Access to home guarantee scheme expanded to friends and siblings
From 1 July 2023, access to the Government’s Home Guarantee Scheme will be expanded to joint applications from “friends, siblings, and other family members” and to those who have not owned a home for at least 10 years.
The eligibility criteria for access to the First Home Guarantee Scheme and Regional First Home Buyers Scheme will be expanded. From 1 July 2023, the schemes will no longer be limited to individuals and couples who are married or in de facto relationships, but will also include eligible friends, siblings, and other family members for joint applications. In addition, the requirement for the applicants to be Australian citizens at the time they enter the loan has been extended to include permanent residents.
The schemes guarantee part of a first home owner’s home loan enabling them to purchase a home with as little as 5% deposit without paying Lenders Mortgage Insurance. Guarantees are capped at 15% of the value of the property. Thirty five thousand places are available for the First Home Guarantee Scheme each financial year. From 1 October 2022 there will be ten thousand places available each financial year until 30 June 2025 for the Regional First Home Buyers Scheme.
Eligibility to the Family Home Guarantee will also be extended. From 1 July 2025, the scheme will no longer be restricted to single parents with at least one dependant natural or adopted child, but will also be available to borrowers who are single legal guardians of dependent children such as aunts, uncles and grandparents.The Family Home Guarantee guarantees the home loan of an eligible single parent with at least one dependent child enabling them to purchase a home with as little as 2% deposit without paying Lenders Mortgage Insurance. The guarantee is capped at 15% of the value of the property. Five thousand places are available to the scheme each year to 30 June 2025.
Right to super to be enshrined in National Employment Standards
The Government has announced that it will enshrine a right to superannuation payments in the National Employment Standards (NES).
Currently, workers not covered by a modern award or an enterprise agreement containing a term requiring an employer to make superannuation contributions have to rely on the ATO to recover their lost superannuation entitlements.
By bringing the right to superannuation into the NES, workers will have the right to directly pursue superannuation owed to them. Employers may also face civil penalties if they do not comply with the entitlement.
Penalties of up to $82,500 per breach apply to companies that are found to have contravened the NES.
The ATO’s most recent estimate of unpaid superannuation indicates that workers lost $3.4 billion in unpaid super in 2019‑20.