25 August 2025
The Australian Banking Association (ABA) has welcomed today’s announcement from the Federal Government to bring forward the start of the Home Guarantee Scheme.
Under the Guarantee, eligible first home buyers are able to purchase a home with a smaller deposit and avoid paying lenders’ mortgage insurance.
ABA CEO Simon Birmingham said it made sense to bring forward the start date of the scheme to 1 October, helping more first home buyers get into the property market sooner.
“Home ownership remains one of the most important financial and personal milestones for Australians, however housing affordability remains a significant challenge for many,” Mr Birmingham said.
“Bringing forward the start date of the Scheme is a sensible and practical decision that will support more first home buyers realise the dream of home ownership sooner than may have otherwise been the case.
“While this will be a welcome boost for many first home buyers, it is essential that broader measures to increase supply and build more homes for all Australians are also delivered upon.
“Banks will continue working with government, regulators and first home buyers to help them safely and sustainably access credit to purchase their first home.”
Latest news
E&OERadio InterviewABC Radio Sydney29 July 2026 Topics: ASIC report into offset accounts Thomas Oriti: Do you have an offset account? I think most people with a mortgage do. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, it’s an account that’s linked to your mortgage and it saves you interest. So, I’ll give you an example…. Read more »
E&OETV InterviewABC News29 July 2026. Topics: ASIC report into offset accounts Ros Childs: Borrowers are being advised to check if they have paid more interest than they should following an ASIC review. The two-year review conducted by the corporate watchdog has found weaknesses in how eight banks monitored and managed offset accounts, resulting in borrowers… Read more »
E&OETV InterviewDoorstop29 July 2026 Topics: ASIC report into offset accounts Journalist: Simon, what’s your reaction to the report from ASIC today? Simon Birmingham: ASIC’s report is really important and it’s welcomed by the banking industry. This report shows that in well over 99 per cent of cases, mortgage offset accounts are working exactly they should… Read more »