Everyday Australians are furious after learning nearly 50,000 immigrants in less than three years have received government assistance to buy homes, in the middle of a housing crisis.
Housing Australia confirmed last week that since mid-2023 48,000 permanent residents have taken advantage of its 5% Deposit Scheme, where the government acts as guarantor to enable first home buyers to avoid lenders mortgage insurance and enter into the housing market with smaller deposits.
Permanent residents are also eligible for $10,000 grants under the federal government’s First Home Owner Grant Scheme, with 972 handed out in NSW alone last year, but there is no publicly available data on how many have been given to non-citizens.
The 5% Deposit Scheme figures were highlighted in an article by news.com.au about a viral X post showing a question to a property forum on Facebook from an immigrant on a verge of getting permanent residency.
“Hi everyone, we’re expecting to receive our Subclass 191 PR soon. We currently have around $200,000 in savings and are both working full-time with a combined annual income of about $180,000,” the anonymous user asked.
“Our plan is to first purchase a new home using the First Homeowner Grant, and then, 3-6 months later, but an investment property. We just wanted to check whether this strategy is realistic and achievable with our current income and savings.”
The question and the revelations about the number of permanent residents accessing the deposit scheme, while Australians are finding it harder than ever to buy homes, sparked outrage on social media.
“How is this not treason? Our taxes are being used to subsidise migrants to buy houses. WTF,” asked one X user.
“Absolute crime,” said another.
“Australians last as per usual. What an absolute joke,” a third wrote.
Critics of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s 5% Deposit Scheme have warned that it will further increase housing prices, and the Insurance Council of Australian predicted last year it would cause increases of up to 10% in the first year.
Net overseas migration since Mr Albanese become Prime Minister in 2022 is about 1.5 million, while the government’s National Housing Accord target of 1.2 million new homes by 2029 is yet to meet a single minimum monthly target and only 322,000 dwellings have been approved to date.
Header image: Anthony Albanese (PMO).
