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Policy Watch

Rent caps Australia: 80% back them, but what do they do?

A new poll says four in five Australians want rents capped or frozen. The harder question is who pays when supply tightens.
Policy Watch

WA pre-sale scheme: a $250m backstop shifts risk, not the bank test

A $250m fund aims to help WA apartment developers reach construction finance. Whether it adds homes depends on who ends up carrying the risk.
Policy Watch

Foreign investor property tax Victoria: Labor flags a review

Labor says it will review Victoria's two overseas-buyer taxes if re-elected. The harder question is whether that brings in new homes or just more bidders.
Policy Watch

Victorian reserve price laws: who gains when sellers show their hand

Some Melbourne vendors are already publishing reserves under new state laws. In a falling market, that could change who holds the power at auction.
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Policy Watch

Vacant home levy floated for SA: seizure clause, 20% top rate

A proposal would tax empty Adelaide houses at 0.5–20% of value and confiscate properties if owners refuse to pay, but Victoria's version shows enforcement is the weak link.
Policy Watch

NSW building laws target 20% cost cut, here’s the catch

New reforms promise faster builds and cheaper homes, but the question is whether they fix structural cost drivers or just move risk around.
Policy Watch

Housing demand shifts baked in by 2050 that policy isn’t pricing

Fertility and longevity trends are remaking Australia's age profile faster than dwelling stock can adjust, but zoning, investment strategies and retirement planning still assume a pyramid that's already inverted.
Policy Watch

Energy efficiency standards: the $33,000 build-cost claim versus lifetime bills

Scrapping mandatory energy rules could cut upfront costs but load decades of extra heating and cooling onto buyers who can least afford it.
Policy Watch

Social housing construction Sydney: 700 homes approved but 2027 start raises delivery risk

Five sites approved to quadruple existing stock, but 18-month gap to shovels means cost blowouts and funding shifts could still derail the pipeline.
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Policy Watch

Wealth advice regulation tightens: what property investors need to know

ASIC warns banks against returning to retail advice while Labor revives reform rules, but the split could cut off mortgage-investment planning.
Policy Watch

Trust tax reform brokers face accreditation bottleneck nobody planned for

A tax policy tweak could force thousands of brokers to unwind years of lender relationships, and there's no guarantee panels will accept the new structure.
Policy Watch

SMSF property development finance rules now choke detached housing

A regulatory fix aimed at apartment towers is quietly strangling finance for the missing-middle housing stock Australia needs most.
Policy Watch

Shellharbour rezoning promises 11,700 homes, hospital, infrastructure timeline unclear

NSW fast-tracks housing and a new hospital precinct for one of the state's fastest-growing coastal communities, but the plan doesn't say when roads, schools and the hospital itself will be built.
Policy Watch

NSW rental bond transfer scheme: does it fix supply or patch symptoms?

State scraps double-bond barrier for 330,000 annual moves, but the real question is whether streamlining churn addresses why renters are moving so often in the first place.
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Policy Watch

ASIC enforcement surge: 87 operators banned as regulator accelerates misconduct crackdowns

The regulator just delivered its highest removal rate in five years, and the shift in how quickly it's acting signals stricter scrutiny ahead for everyone still in the game.
Policy Watch

Affordable housing loophole: how a $1 lease turned vacancy into 14 homes

A Melbourne apartment block sat empty with mould and asbestos. Now it's 14 studios for young people leaving homelessness. The structure that made it possible isn't charity.
Policy Watch

Superannuation tax changes force property vs super choice for middle-income builders

Middle-income households now face a structural trade-off that didn't exist 12 months ago, super's appeal is rising while property's holding costs bite harder.
Policy Watch

Spare bedrooms: 13 million rooms sit empty as rentals tighten

Census data exposes 13 million unused bedrooms across Australian homes while rental vacancy hits record lows, now the question is what policy can do about it.

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