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&OEDoorstop9 News8 October 2026 Topics: Credit card surcharging ban Journalist: The Greens say that to solve this issue, the banks should be paying the credit card surcharge. What’s your response to that? Simon Birmingham: Having a safe, modern, secure payment system does come with huge costs, but banks are already cutting payment fees by around… Read more »
E&OERadio InterviewInterview ABC Adelaide8 October 2026 Topics: Regional banking Nikolai Beilharz: We know bank branches have been closing down, especially in regional areas of South Australia and Australia more broadly, including a number of places that have no local banking representation anymore. Well, a new plan has been put forward by the Australian Banking Association… Read more »
E&OERadio InterviewInterview ABC Illawarra8 October 2026 Topics: Regional banking; Card Surcharging ban Stefan Posthuma: You might have heard that the Commonwealth Bank has announced it’s closing its Albion Park branch next month. That’s despite its recent commitment to not close any regional branches until 2030. You know, this might be a common issue we’re seeing,… Read more »