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Housing Australia Amendment (Accountability)

Current status

This bill is currently before Parliament.

Policy area

Welfare & housing

What does this bill do?

The bill would amend the Housing Australia Act 2018The Commonwealth Act the bill would amend, specifically section 12, which deals with directions to Housing Australia. so directions made under subsection 12(1), which make up the Housing Australia Investment MandateThe set of directions made under the Housing Australia Act that guide Housing Australia programs. The explanatory memorandum says it includes the Home Guarantee Scheme and the Housing Australia Future Fund Facility., are subject to parliamentary disallowanceA parliamentary process that lets either house cancel certain legislative instruments after they are tabled..

Why was it introduced?

Senator Bragg introduced the bill to make directions under subsection 12(1) of the Housing Australia Act 2018The Commonwealth Act the bill would amend, specifically section 12, which deals with directions to Housing Australia. disallowable. The explanatory memorandum says those directions form the Housing Australia Investment MandateThe set of directions made under the Housing Australia Act that guide Housing Australia programs. The explanatory memorandum says it includes the Home Guarantee Scheme and the Housing Australia Future Fund Facility. and argues that major changes, especially the Home Guarantee SchemeA Housing Australia program that helps eligible buyers purchase a home with a smaller deposit. The bill debate focused on changes to this scheme. expansion announced for 1 October 2025, should be subject to parliamentary oversight rather than made through a non-disallowable instrumentA parliamentary process that lets either house cancel certain legislative instruments after they are tabled..

Broader context

The bill sits at the intersection of housing affordability politics and a procedural argument about delegated legislationA form of delegated legislation made under authority granted by an Act, often containing detailed rules or directions.. Supporters said the Home Guarantee SchemeA Housing Australia program that helps eligible buyers purchase a home with a smaller deposit. The bill debate focused on changes to this scheme. and other Housing Australia directions should not be changed without Parliament having a disallowanceA parliamentary process that lets either house cancel certain legislative instruments after they are tabled. power. Government speakers opposed the bill as a threat to housing delivery and first-home-buyer support. Greens debate supported stronger accountability but argued that transparency alone would not solve housing shortages, homelessness or affordability.

Key criticism

The main criticism in the collected debate was that the bill would use accountability language to let the Senate block or unsettle housing programs, including first-home-buyer support and social or affordable housing delivery. Labor senators argued this would delay homes, increase uncertainty and leave first home buyers worse off. Senator Barbara Pocock supported stronger accountability but also warned that the bill alone would not fix deeper housing affordability and homelessness problems.

Who supported it?

Senator Andrew Bragg introduced this bill. Support so far has come from Liberal Party, Greens, One Nation, Nationals, some crossbench members; opposition has come from Labor, some crossbench members.

Introduced in Senate 04 Sept 2025
Passed Senate 26 Mar 2026 Aye 36 No 25
Before House 26 Mar 2026
Not yet law —

Did it become law?

Not yet

Final passage

Recorded vote so far

1 counted final-passage vote was recorded.

Days since introduction

279 days

Updated 10 June 2026.

Official record

View on APH

Parliament of Australia bill page

Meaning

What does this bill do?

  1. The bill would amend the Housing Australia Act 2018The Commonwealth Act the bill would amend, specifically section 12, which deals with directions to Housing Australia. so directions made under subsection 12(1), which make up the Housing Australia Investment MandateThe set of directions made under the Housing Australia Act that guide Housing Australia programs. The explanatory memorandum says it includes the Home Guarantee Scheme and the Housing Australia Future Fund Facility., are subject to parliamentary disallowanceA parliamentary process that lets either house cancel certain legislative instruments after they are tabled..

  2. The application clause would also bring instruments already in force at commencement into the tablingThe process of presenting a document or instrument to Parliament, which can start scrutiny and disallowance timeframes. and disallowanceA parliamentary process that lets either house cancel certain legislative instruments after they are tabled. process as if they had been registered at commencement.

  3. Senator Bragg’s explanatory memorandum says the bill responds to concern that material changes to Housing Australia directions can currently be made by a non-disallowable instrumentA parliamentary process that lets either house cancel certain legislative instruments after they are tabled..

  4. The explanatory memorandum focuses on the Home Guarantee SchemeA Housing Australia program that helps eligible buyers purchase a home with a smaller deposit. The bill debate focused on changes to this scheme. expansion announced on 25 August 2025, saying it removed income caps, removed caps on places and allowed more expensive property purchases.

  5. If enacted, the whole bill would commence the day after Royal AssentThe formal approval a bill needs after passing both houses before it becomes an Act., but the APH bill page still recorded it as before the House of Representatives at manual checking time.

  6. The Senate agreed to the second readingThe parliamentary stage where the chamber debates and votes on the bill in principle. and third readingThe final stage in a chamber before a bill passes that chamber. on 26 March 2026, each on a counted vote of 36 ayes to 25 noes, before the bill was introduced in the House the same day.

Show source excerpts
  1. hedule 1—Amendments Housing Australia Act 2018 1 Subsection 12(1) (note 1) Repeal the note. 2 Subsection 12(1) (note 2) Omit “Note 2”, substitute “Note”. 3 At the end of section 12 Add: (4) Despite regulations made for the purposes of paragraph 44(2)(b) of the Legislation Act 2003, section 42 (disallowance) of that Act applies to a legislative instrument made under subsection (1). 4 Application (1) This item applies to a legislative instrument: (a) made under subsection 12(1) of the Housing Australia Act 2018; and (b) in force at the commencement of this item. (2) Fo
    Housing Australia Amendment (Accountability) Bill 2025 introduced text
  2. (2) For the purposes of this Act, Part 2 of Chapter 3 of the Legislation Act 2003 applies in relation to the instrument as if the instrument had been registered at that commencement. Note: The effect of this item is to make, at the commencement of this item, the instrument subject to the tabling and disallowance processes set out in the Legislation Act 2003.
    Housing Australia Amendment (Accountability) Bill 2025 introduced text
  3. income caps on HGS participants, no caps on HGS places and the scheme can be used to purchase more expensive property. These changes fundamentally alter the original design of this scheme. Changes of this scope and scale should be subject to the oversight of elected officials. However, the existing legislation provides that these changes can be made by a simple instrument which is not disallowable. The Bill’s objective is to provide parliamentary oversight on all directions made under subsection 12(1) of the Act. If the Bill is passed, existing and future directions made under subsect
    Housing Australia Amendment (Accountability) Bill 2025 explanatory memorandum
  4. ernment housing policy such as the Housing Australia Future Fund Facility. On 25 August 2025, the Labor Party announced a large expansion of the HGS will come into effect on 1 October 2025. There will now be no income caps on HGS participants, no caps on HGS places and the scheme can be used to purchase more expensive property. These changes fundamentally alter the original design of this scheme. Changes of this scope and scale should be subject to the oversight of elected officials. However, the existing legislat
    Housing Australia Amendment (Accountability) Bill 2025 explanatory memorandum
  5. NOTES ON CLAUSES Clause 1: Short Title 1. This clause provides for the Bill, when enacted, to be cited as the Housing Australia Amendment (Accountability) Act 2025 Clause 2: Commencement 2. This clause provides that the whole of the Act shall commence the day after the Act receives Royal Assent Clause 3: Schedules 3. This clause provides that legislation that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned,
    Housing Australia Amendment (Accountability) Bill 2025 explanatory memorandum
  6. ll be now read a third time. The PRESIDENT: The question is that the bill be now read a third time. Thursday, 26 March 2026 Page: 2 The Senate divided. [09:15] (The President—Senator Lines) DIVISION:AYES 36 (11 majority) NOES 25 PAIRS 5 AYES NOES PAIRS Allman-Payne, P. J. Antic, A. Askew, W. Bell, S. Blyth, L. (Teller) Bragg, A. J. Brockman, W. E. Cadell, R. P. Chandler, C. Colbeck, R. M. Collins, J. Duniam, J. R. Faruqi,
    Senate division on third reading

Context

Broader context for this bill

The bill sits at the intersection of housing affordability politics and a procedural argument about delegated legislationA form of delegated legislation made under authority granted by an Act, often containing detailed rules or directions.. Supporters said the Home Guarantee SchemeA Housing Australia program that helps eligible buyers purchase a home with a smaller deposit. The bill debate focused on changes to this scheme. and other Housing Australia directions should not be changed without Parliament having a disallowanceA parliamentary process that lets either house cancel certain legislative instruments after they are tabled. power. Government speakers opposed the bill as a threat to housing delivery and first-home-buyer support. Greens debate supported stronger accountability but argued that transparency alone would not solve housing shortages, homelessness or affordability.

  1. 2018

    Housing Australia Act directions become the target of the bill

    The bill would amend section 12 of the Housing Australia Act 2018The Commonwealth Act the bill would amend, specifically section 12, which deals with directions to Housing Australia., which is the direction-making power identified in the explanatory memorandum as forming the Housing Australia Investment MandateThe set of directions made under the Housing Australia Act that guide Housing Australia programs. The explanatory memorandum says it includes the Home Guarantee Scheme and the Housing Australia Future Fund Facility..

    Introduced bill text and explanatory memorandum ↗
  2. 16 June 2021

    Sponsor cites Senate position on disallowanceA parliamentary process that lets either house cancel certain legislative instruments after they are tabled.

    The incorporated second readingThe parliamentary stage where the chamber debates and votes on the bill in principle. speech referred to a Senate resolution that delegated legislationA form of delegated legislation made under authority granted by an Act, often containing detailed rules or directions. should generally be subject to disallowanceA parliamentary process that lets either house cancel certain legislative instruments after they are tabled. unless exceptional circumstances justify otherwise.

    Hansard second reading speech ↗
  3. 25 Aug 2025

    Home Guarantee SchemeA Housing Australia program that helps eligible buyers purchase a home with a smaller deposit. The bill debate focused on changes to this scheme. expansion becomes the policy trigger

    The explanatory memorandum says Labor announced a large expansion of the Home Guarantee SchemeA Housing Australia program that helps eligible buyers purchase a home with a smaller deposit. The bill debate focused on changes to this scheme., including no income caps, no cap on places and higher property price settings.

    Explanatory memorandum ↗
  4. 04 Sept 2025

    Bill introduced in the Senate

    The APH progress record shows the bill was introduced and the second readingThe parliamentary stage where the chamber debates and votes on the bill in principle. was moved in the Senate on 4 September 2025.

    Parliament of Australia ↗
  5. 30 Oct 2025

    Debate sets accountability against housing delivery

    Collected speeches show supporters focusing on disallowanceA parliamentary process that lets either house cancel certain legislative instruments after they are tabled. and executive oversight, while Labor speakers argued the bill would delay housing programs and create uncertainty.

    Hansard debate ↗
  6. 26 Mar 2026

    Senate passes bill and sends it to the House

    The Senate agreed to both second and third readings by 36 ayes to 25 noes; the APH progress record then shows the bill introduced in the House of Representatives the same day.

    APH progress record and Senate divisions ↗

Legislative route

How did it move through Parliament?

House Senate
Introduced 04 Sept 2025

The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.

Introduced and read a first time

Second readingThe parliamentary stage where the chamber debates and votes on the bill in principle. opened 04 Sept 2025

A minister or sponsoring member moved the second readingThe parliamentary stage where the chamber debates and votes on the bill in principle., opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.

Second readingThe parliamentary stage where the chamber debates and votes on the bill in principle. moved

Second readingThe parliamentary stage where the chamber debates and votes on the bill in principle. debate 30 Oct 2025

The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.

Second readingThe parliamentary stage where the chamber debates and votes on the bill in principle. debate 04 Feb 2026

The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.

Second readingThe parliamentary stage where the chamber debates and votes on the bill in principle. debate 26 Mar 2026

The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.

Senate second readingThe parliamentary stage where the chamber debates and votes on the bill in principle. agreed Aye 36 No 25 26 Mar 2026

Recorded vote: 36 to 25.

The chamber agreed to the bill at second readingThe parliamentary stage where the chamber debates and votes on the bill in principle., meaning it accepted the bill in principle and allowed it to continue.

Second readingThe parliamentary stage where the chamber debates and votes on the bill in principle. agreed to

Senate third readingThe final stage in a chamber before a bill passes that chamber. agreed Aye 36 No 25 26 Mar 2026

Recorded vote: 36 to 25.

The chamber agreed to the bill at third readingThe final stage in a chamber before a bill passes that chamber., which completed passage through that chamber.

Third readingThe final stage in a chamber before a bill passes that chamber. agreed to

Introduced 26 Mar 2026

The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.

Introduced and read a first time

Key criticism

The main case against this bill

The main criticism in the collected debate was that the bill would use accountability language to let the Senate block or unsettle housing programs, including first-home-buyer support and social or affordable housing delivery. Labor senators argued this would delay homes, increase uncertainty and leave first home buyers worse off. Senator Barbara Pocock supported stronger accountability but also warned that the bill alone would not fix deeper housing affordability and homelessness problems.

Supporters made the opposite case: that disallowanceA parliamentary process that lets either house cancel certain legislative instruments after they are tabled. would improve scrutiny of large housing-policy changes and check executive overreach. No committee scrutiny entry or Senate Journal amendment outcome was present in the supplied source bundle.

Housing delivery delays

Labor speakers said the bill would delay social and affordable housing projects and reduce certainty for community housing providers and builders.

Raised by Dorinda Cox and Ellie Whiteaker Source ↗

First home buyer impacts

Government speakers argued that making Housing Australia directions disallowable would threaten programs intended to help first home buyers enter the market with smaller deposits.

Raised by Lisa Darmanin and Corinne Mulholland Source ↗

Investment uncertainty

Whiteaker argued that housing projects depend on stable policy settings and that the bill risked undermining contracts, finance and projects already underway.

Raised by Ellie Whiteaker Source ↗

Accountability is not enough

Pocock said the Greens supported stronger accountability but cautioned that transparency alone would not solve homelessness or the broader housing crisis.

Raised by Barbara Pocock Source ↗

Further sources

parlinfo.aph.gov.au ↗ parlinfo.aph.gov.au ↗ parlinfo.aph.gov.au ↗

Votes

Recorded votes

How the bill itself passed

The chamber-passage votes come first. Expand a vote to see the party breakdown.

Carried

Senate passed the bill

Aye 36 No 25

Passed 36 to 25. Support came from Liberal Party, Greens, One Nation, Nationals, and minor parties and independents. Opposition came from Labor and minor parties and independents.

26 Mar 2026

Party Recorded votes Aye / No
Labor 0 / 24
Liberal Party 19 / 0
Greens 10 / 0
One Nation 3 / 0
Nationals 2 / 0
Australia's Voice 1 / 0
Independent 0 / 1
Unknown 1 / 0

Earlier bill-stage votes

Carried

Senate cleared second reading

Aye 36 No 25

Passed 36 to 25. Support came from Liberal Party, Greens, One Nation, Nationals, and minor parties and independents. Opposition came from Labor and minor parties and independents.

26 Mar 2026

Party Recorded votes Aye / No
Labor 0 / 24
Liberal Party 19 / 0
Greens 10 / 0
One Nation 3 / 0
Nationals 2 / 0
Australia's Voice 1 / 0
Independent 0 / 1
Unknown 1 / 0

These are votes on the bill itself rather than amendment votes.

Parliamentary debate

Who spoke, and what they said

Start here — lead voices

Sponsor speech Supports

Wendy Askew

Liberal Party • Senator 04 Sept 2025

Wendy Askew presented the explanatory memorandum and incorporated the second readingThe parliamentary stage where the chamber debates and votes on the bill in principle. speech, arguing that directions under the Housing Australia Act should face parliamentary oversight rather than being changed by non-disallowable instrumentA parliamentary process that lets either house cancel certain legislative instruments after they are tabled..

Read in Hansard ↗
Lead opposing voice Opposes

Lisa Darmanin

Australian Labor Party • Senator 04 Feb 2026

Lisa Darmanin opposed the bill, saying the government would not support a measure she characterised as holding up housing and undermining help for first home buyers, renters and social housing.

Read in Hansard ↗
Lead supporting voice Supports

Malcolm Roberts

Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party • Senator 04 Feb 2026

Malcolm Roberts supported the bill, arguing that it restored Senate scrutiny over regulations and criticising broader government housing settings.

Read in Hansard ↗
Lead voice Mixed

Barbara Pocock

Australian Greens • Senator 30 Oct 2025

Barbara Pocock backed stronger accountability and criticised non-disallowable instruments, while warning that this bill alone would not solve the wider housing and homelessness crisis.

Read in Hansard ↗

All speeches by bloc

Labor

4 speakers · 5 contributions · 4 oppose

  1. Lisa Darmanin ★ Lisa Darmanin opposed the bill, saying the government would not support a measure she characterised as holding up housing and undermining help for first home buyers, renters and social housing.
    “The government will not be supporting this bill, the Housing Australia Amendment (Accountability) Bill 2025, because the government is in the business of helping first home buyers buy their own homes. The government is in the business of delivering social and affordable housing. The government is”

    Australian Labor Party • Senator • 04 Feb 2026

    Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
  2. Dorinda Cox Dorinda Cox opposed the bill, arguing that it would reduce certainty for housing policy, delay social and affordable housing projects and raise costs rather than help supply.
    “using projects that are under construction right now would also be delayed. Without Commonwealth support, community housing providers would have to stop work on their new builds altogether. This is a real-world impact of this bill—fewer homes, less certainty and absolutely higher costs. We've seen this behaviour before. We feel like we're having deja vu. For months, as I said, they blocked the build to rent program, and they tried to scrap it. For months they blocked the H”

    Australian Labor Party • Senator • 30 Oct 2025

    Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
  3. Ellie Whiteaker 2 contributions Ellie Whiteaker opposed the bill, saying it would make first home ownership harder and delay affordable housing by blocking new homes.

    Hansard records 2 separate contributions by Ellie Whiteaker on this bill. They are grouped here so the speaker is listed once.

    Second reading speech Australian Labor Party • Senator • 04 Feb 2026

    Ellie Whiteaker opposed the bill, saying it would make first home ownership harder and delay affordable housing by blocking new homes.

    “Let's be honest about what this bill, the Housing Australia Amendment (Accountability) Bill 2025, would do. It would make it harder for first home buyers to buy their own home. This bill by the Liberal Party—by Senator Bragg—will make it harder for first home buyers to buy their first home and will stand in the way of the delivery of affordable housing for Austral”
    Read this contribution in Hansard ↗

    Second reading speech Australian Labor Party • Senator • 26 Mar 2026

    Continuing her contribution, Ellie Whiteaker again opposed the bill, arguing that it would undermine policy certainty and put housing projects already underway at risk.

    “are moving—I can see them going up around me in Perth, and this bill stands in the way of that achievement. It would stop it in its tracks. These are homes that Australians are counting on. This bill wouldn't build a single home, but it risks standing in the way of thousands. Our government will not allow the Liberal Party to stand in the way of the homes that Australians need.”
    Read this contribution in Hansard ↗
  4. Corinne Mulholland Corinne Mulholland opposed the bill, saying it would let the Senate block housing reforms and make it harder for Australians to buy homes.
    “I rise to speak against the Housing Australia Amendment (Accountability) Bill 2025—a bill that is bad for housing, bad for Australians and bad for homeownership. In the middle of a housing crisis, the shadow minister for housing thinks it's a good idea to move a bill like this—a bill which seeks to allow the Senate to block housing reforms. Not cont”

    Australian Labor Party • Senator • 04 Feb 2026

    Read the full speech in Hansard ↗

Coalition

5 speakers · 5 support

  1. Jane Hume Jane Hume supported the bill, framing it as a safeguard for transparency, parliamentary oversight and protection against executive overreach in housing policy.
    “I rise to speak in support of the Housing Australia Amendment (Accountability) Bill 2025. This bill is fundamentally about three very basic things. It's about transparency, it's about oversight, and it's about protecting the Australian economy from reckless government policy. More importantly, it's about reducing that risk of excessive executive overreach. The objective of the bill is straightforward. It provides an important parliamentary oversight on all the d”

    Liberal Party • Senator • 30 Oct 2025

    Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
  2. Maria Kovacic Maria Kovacic supported Senator Bragg’s accountability case while rejecting One Nation’s migration framing, arguing that the Home Guarantee SchemeA Housing Australia program that helps eligible buyers purchase a home with a smaller deposit. The bill debate focused on changes to this scheme. increased demand without fixing housing supply.
    “ this? It's Australians who do. The Australian taxpayer does. We have to pay higher taxes to fund this largess. I think one of the things that we need to consider and that we need to do—and this bill from Senator Bragg does—is ensure Australians are protected from whims of government making really significant decisions without meaningful consultation or parliamentary oversight. That is what has happened here. Regulation should be about filling in the detail and making things clearer and simply, but not making substantive changes to the way our actual economy funct”

    Liberal Party • Senator • 04 Feb 2026

    Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
  3. Andrew Bragg Andrew Bragg supported the bill as a democratic-accountability measure, saying ministerial changes to the Home Guarantee SchemeA Housing Australia program that helps eligible buyers purchase a home with a smaller deposit. The bill debate focused on changes to this scheme. had been made without Parliament being able to review or disallow them.
    “I rise to speak to the Housing Australia Amendment (Accountability) Bill 2025. The purpose of this bill is to enact a system where there is going to be democratic accountability over the Housing Australia legislation, because, as it stands, the minister is able to make material changes to Housing Australia programs, including the Home Guarantee Scheme, without any reference to this parliament. We have a”

    Liberal Party • Senator • 30 Oct 2025

    Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
  4. Slade Brockman Slade Brockman supported the opposition case, arguing Labor’s housing policies, especially the Home Guarantee SchemeA Housing Australia program that helps eligible buyers purchase a home with a smaller deposit. The bill debate focused on changes to this scheme., had increased prices and should be rethought.
    “ knew were going to be failed policies when they were introduced to this place over the last few years. History has now shown that they are failed policies, and we have been proved correct. Let's start with the Home Guarantee Scheme, which independent experts and people such as the Reserve Bank have acknowledged has poured petrol onto prices in the housing market, causing them to rise by as much as 10 per cent. If you have forced up the cost of a house by 10 per cent and 95 per cent of that is going on people's mortgages, that, in the face of rising”

    Liberal Party • Senator • 04 Feb 2026

    Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
  5. Wendy Askew ★ Wendy Askew presented the explanatory memorandum and incorporated the second readingThe parliamentary stage where the chamber debates and votes on the bill in principle. speech, arguing that directions under the Housing Australia Act should face parliamentary oversight rather than being changed by non-disallowable instrumentA parliamentary process that lets either house cancel certain legislative instruments after they are tabled..
    “ to serve the Australian people, and ensure their tax dollars are spent responsibly, with the oversight of the entire Parliament, not simply at the whims of one Minister or political party. At its core, the aim of this Bill is to provide parliamentary oversight on material changes to directions made under subsection 12(1) of the Housing Australia Act 2018, which together constitute the Housing Australia Investment Mandate. The Housing Australia Investment Mandate includes the Home Guarantee Scheme, which Labor have expanded under the guise o”

    Liberal Party • Senator • 04 Sept 2025

    Read the full speech in Hansard ↗

Greens

1 speaker · 1 mixed

  1. Barbara Pocock ★ Barbara Pocock backed stronger accountability and criticised non-disallowable instruments, while warning that this bill alone would not solve the wider housing and homelessness crisis.
    “iled to rein in the power of lobbyists. It's failed to support parliament and its accountability function. For a government who promised to increase transparency, we're getting the reverse. In closing the Greens support stronger accountability, but let's not pretend that this bill alone will fix the broken problem. We need to continue to push for transparency, not just in Housing Australia but across the whole housing system. This trend to legislating solely through non-disallowable instruments needs ”

    Australian Greens • Senator • 30 Oct 2025

    Read the full speech in Hansard ↗

One Nation

1 speaker · 1 support

  1. Malcolm Roberts ★ Malcolm Roberts supported the bill, arguing that it restored Senate scrutiny over regulations and criticising broader government housing settings.
    “I thank Senator Bragg for introducing the Housing Australia Amendment (Accountability) Bill 2025, which One Nation supports. There's an urgent need for this bill, which restores the Senate's right to scrutinise regulations issued under a bill. In recent years, more and more provisions which would previously have ”

    Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party • Senator • 04 Feb 2026

    Read the full speech in Hansard ↗

Record

Full record

Full chat