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After 18 million Australians hit the polls on Saturday (3 May 2025), the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and its Leader Anthony Albanese were re-elected, forming the 48th Parliament of Australia, in what has been described as a landslide victory.
The Prime Minister’s win marked the first back-to-back re-election since former Liberal prime minister John Howard held office two decades ago.
Major news outlets projected a Labor victory at around 8:30pm AEST on Saturday night, with now former opposition leader and MP, Peter Dutton, conceding defeat an hour later after losing both his seat in the Dickson electorate and the majority vote.
At the time of writing (5 May 2025), the ALP was leading in 73 seats nationally, with eight close seats, according to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC). This result exceeded expectations from published opinion polling, which seemed to suggest that the Labor Party would finish with a smaller majority or a hung Parliament.
Leading up to the election, both Labor and the opposition drew particular focus to Australia’s housing woes, promising a multitude of housing initiatives to address these issues.
With Labor retaining its spot in government, here’s what we can expect:
FHB policies
The Labor Party announced a revision to the First Home Buyer Guarantee (FHBG) initiative through enabling all first home buyers to purchase a property with a 5 per cent deposit without the need to pay for lenders mortgage insurance (LMI).
The Prime Minister confirmed that the reviewed initiative will have no caps on places of income, while also offering higher property price limits (the limits are yet to be determined).
The proposed changes would mark a substantial shift from the current FHBG scheme, which is limited to 35,000 places and only available to single applicants earning under $125,000 a year or couples with a combined income of up to $200,000.
The Labor Party has also pledged a $10 billion investment to deliver 100,000 new homes in partnership with state developers, exclusively for first home buyers.
In addition to the expanded FHBG, Labor has confirmed it will continue the Help to Buy shared equity scheme, with increased income and property price thresholds, as detailed in the 2025–26 federal budget.
Housing supply
Labor appears committed to its National Housing Accord target of providing 1.2 million homes by 2029 and will now look to fast-track the implementation of a national Housing and Homelessness Plan that will align with the policies and investments of all levels of government to increase housing supply.
To help ease pressure on the housing market while increasing supply, the Labor government also imposed a temporary ban on foreign purchases of established homes. The restriction will apply from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2027, with a review scheduled to determine whether the policy should be extended.
Labor has also reiterated its commitment to maintaining existing tax settings to support investment in build-to-rent developments.
In addition, the government will continue to operate the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) and the National Housing Accord Facility (NHAF). Both investment funds, legislated in late 2023, are designed to deliver a combined total of 30,000 social and affordable homes.
Calls from industry
According to Mark Haron, executive director at Connective, the election reflected the "urgency Australians feel around housing" and said the focus must now shift from "promises to delivery".
"While Labor’s proposals, including the expanded First Home Buyer Guarantee and Help to Buy scheme, offer some relief, they miss the mark in addressing deeper structural issues driving affordability and access.
“The government’s $10 billion commitment to build 100,000 homes for first home buyers is a welcome long-term initiative - but those homes will not be available overnight. What we need now is immediate, coordinated action to relieve the pressure facing buyers today through better access to finance, smarter planning and supply-side support."
Haron added that brokers are "on the front line" of this challenge daily, and will continue to play a pivotal role in assisting borrowers traverse a tightening credit environment.
"The government must work hand in hand with the industry, who are advocating for practical, long-term policies that are inclusive and support both brokers and the Australians they serve.”
HIA’s managing director Jocelyn Martin has urged the newly elected federal government to “make housing a first-order priority from day one”, saying that “any delay or political grandstanding will only deepen the nation’s housing crisis”.
“Access to a home – whether to rent or own – is becoming unattainable for too many Australians. This is a challenge that demands a major response in the first days and weeks of the new term of government,” Martin said.
“HIA has been clear throughout the election campaign that all sides of politics must provide bold and courageous leadership to deliver on the nation’s critical housing shortages and meet the National Housing Accord target of 1.2 million new homes.
“The industry has laid out the plan – through HIA’s Let’s Build agenda – to fast-track planning, unlock land, invest in infrastructure, and build the skilled workforce needed to deliver the homes Australia needs.”
Mike Zorbas, Property Council Australia’s CEO, said the PCA looks forward to working with the federal government to “address the immediate challenges ahead for our nation”.
“The returning government is well aware of those challenges,” Zorbas said.
“Better planning our capital and regional cities and providing the homes and industrial and commercial property assets the nation needs is a high priority for the government.
“Beyond this, pro-investment settings that attract overseas money to build our future city assets must be a priority for both the federal and state governments over the next term.”
[RELATED: What the major parties are proposing ahead of the 2025 federal election]
