The New South Wales Government is set to increase the tax foreign property buyers pay by more than one per cent, in an attempt to ease the housing crisis. The Government also exploring a plan to underwrite developments to speed up housing construction.

Council of the City of Sydney

The housing crisis in Sydney continues as demand outpaces the rate of construction. To address this issue, authorities are taking several significant measures. One such initiative focuses on increasing the tax on foreign investors in New South Wales. The foreign investor tax will rise by 1%, reaching 9%, while in other states like Victoria, Queensland, and Tasmania, the tax stands at 8%. South Australia and Western Australia have a 7% tax, and there are currently no such taxes in the Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory. Foreign investors hold approximately 2% of the Australian housing market.

In addition to raising the foreign investor tax, the New South Wales Government plans to increase land taxes by 1%. Moreover, a pilot project is being launched to explore underwriting developers, which may involve the State Government providing guarantees on development loans to accelerate financing without heavily risking taxpayer money. These guarantees are likened to the support parents often provide for their children's loans.

New planning reforms are also being announced to expedite the construction process for large apartment buildings. Currently, the process takes about six years from planning to completion—two years in planning, two years in financing, and another two years in building. It's anticipated that the new proposal could reduce the finance time by half. This initiative aims to start new projects promptly and get homes ready faster, which is a positive development from the industry's perspective. The government's goal is to ensure these efforts lead to more available homes without supporting unsound developers.



Government plan to tax foreign property buyers

No matter how quickly they build, it's not enough. To tackle a housing crisis, you need to pull many levers. Today, it was the one labelled slug foreign investors more. We want to make sure that every available home is given to domestic buyers ahead of foreign buyers. From next year, foreign investor tax in NSW jumps 1% to 9%. Right now, Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania are on 8%. South Australia and WA 7%, while the ACT and Northern Territory have none. Foreign investors own around 2% of the Aussie housing market. The NSW Government will soon up their land tax by 1%. And in a new pilot, it will explore underwriting developers. Today, we're announcing nation-leading planning reforms. Whether the State Government goes guarantor on some development loans to fast-track finance. It may be that we provide a guarantee similar to what parents provide for their children. Without putting taxpayer money hugely at risk, in fact, we'd hope that we can design this in such a way that we get houses and that's it at the end of it. When it comes to building big apartment blocks, the Government says it can take two years in the planning, two years in the financing and two years in the build. This new proposal could slash the finance time in half. It's focused on starting new projects and ultimately getting keys indoors for new homes quicker. And from an industry perspective, that's certainly welcome news. This is not about propping up dodgy developers, this is about driving homes and making sure people have homes.

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