HomeBuilder grant deadline extended to June 2025 for existing applicants

The shift comes after concern from buyers across Australia who feared they would miss the previous deadline of April 30, 2023 due to delays beyond their control.

It also comes as the Labor government faces mounting pressure from key crossbenchers including ACT senator David Pocock to increase the size of its $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund to create more social and affordable housing.

Federal Housing Minister Julie Collins said existing, eligible HomeBuilder applicants will now have until June 30, 2025 to provide supporting documentation in order to receive the payment.

"Too many Australians stood to miss out on support they believed they would receive, through no fault of their own," she said in a statement.

"This decision will not cost the budget, but it will ease the burden on families right across the country who are relying on this grant."

The HomeBuilder scheme, introduced by the Morrison government in 2020 and administered by the states and territories, offered owner-occupiers grants of up to $25,000 to put towards a new-build home, including off-the-plan properties, or a substantial renovation.

But home buyers and the construction industry have been struggling with severe supply chain problems, blowing out costs and creating lengthy delays. With time running out, buyers under the scheme feared they would miss the previous deadline.

The extension would be subject to the agreement of states and territories and would only apply to applicants who had previously received formal approval for the program.

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The two-part process required applicants to submit their registration by April 14, 2021. Applicants then had a second deadline to submit supporting documents, including a certificate of title, in order to receive the grant payment.

For off-the-plan properties, title documents are issued once the build is complete.

The extension will come as a relief for Emma and Nicholas Feeney, who said the HomeBuilder grant was one of the reasons they chose to buy an off-the-plan townhouse in late 2020.

"Obviously $25,000 is a large sum of money that played a part in our decision to go ahead with [the purchase]," Mr Feeney said.

Construction of their Kaleen townhouse is now complete, but the couple are waiting for a certificate of occupancy and the certificate of title to be issued.

Their home was initially due to be completed in February 2022 but construction delays have pushed the timeline out by more than a year.

Mr Feeney said if they had missed out on the grant it would have "hamstrung" their future plans.

Ms Collins said a "perfect storm" had blown out construction times across Australia.

"This perfect storm includes the former government's mismanagement of HomeBuilder itself," she said.

"The government is cleaning up this mess and making sure ordinary Australians don't miss out on support they believed they would receive."

The Albanese government remains hopeful its key election promise of a $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund will pass Federal Parliament this week.

Independent ACT senator David Pocock is among the crossbenchers who want to increase its size, while Jacqui Lambie Network senator Tammy Tyrrell has questioned the process for choosing where housing will be built. She wants at least 1200 built in Tasmania.

Under Labor's plan, $10 billion invested by the fund would generate $500 million a year to finance the provision of social and affordable housing. It would deliver 30,000 new social housing properties in the first five years of the scheme.

Senator Pocock said the proposal was "a good start" but needed more ambition to make a dent in the housing shortfall. Meanwhile the Greens want to see the plan scrapped and the money used to directly purchase housing instead.

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