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‘Things have changed’: Coalition’s $50k FHB superannuation pledge on the chopping block
The Coalition’s election pledge to allow first home buyers to withdraw from their super for a property deposit is now up in the air, with one backbencher pushing for the Opposition to scrap the policy.
The Coalition party room is divided over its longstanding policy allowing first home buyers to withdraw from their superannuation to pay a property deposit, with a Liberal MP pushing to scrap the pledge.
The policy, originally adopted in 2022 and again in 2025, would allow first home buyers to withdraw up to 40 per cent of their superannuation, capped at $50,000, to use as a home deposit.
The pledge was designed to counter Labor’s Help to Buy scheme, where the government contributes up to 40 per cent of the purchase price of new homes and 30 per cent for existing homes.
In an interview with the ABC’s Insiders on the weekend, Liberal backbencher Garth Hamilton said that, due to economic uncertainty, superannuation should be protected as future retirement savings, rather than used to solve the housing affordability crisis.
Admitting that the switch would be a drastic change for the Coalition, Hamilton said that the focus needed to be on the future and the security that super provided for Australians.
“I think there’s a shared view that, whilst the policy we had was strong and it reflected the challenges people had on housing, the idea of giving people that security now is right … things have changed.”
Hamilton said he believed he had enough support within the party to prevent the policy from becoming an election pledge for the third consecutive time.
While some MPs may need convincing, he said he was committed to fostering debate around the topic.
Hamilton also said he had spoken to Opposition leader Angus Taylor on the matter, who recognised the “same challenges” as himself, and acknowledged that it would be an important policy discussion to have.
“I haven’t pressed him on that, I’ve just put forward what my position would be, and I’m doing the hard work now trying to win that agreement,” Hamilton said.
Despite the push against the policy, key figures in the Liberal Party, including shadow treasurer Tim Wilson and housing minister Andrew Bragg, still strongly support the pledge.
Wilson told the AFR that, with the scheme, Australians could have the benefits of home ownership during their working life and retirement, whereas superannuation benefits were for retirement only.
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“With the average age of Australians buying their first home nearing 40, and with a mortgage life of 30 years, Australians are increasingly using their super to pay for a home,” he said.
“The only question is whether their super pays off their mortgage, or helps them get one earlier when they’re generally cheaper.”
Similarly, Bragg said the party wanted to prevent Australia from “becoming a nation of retired renters”, and it was therefore reviewing current housing and retirement options.
While the Coalition has not formally adopted a stance on the matter since last year’s election, Bragg, who has been a long-time critic of the superannuation system, recently touched on the matter in an interview.
"You could take it out to pay off a mortgage or to pull together a first home loan," he told the ABC in September.
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