An inquiry has exposed growing housing hardship as the federal government’s contentious tax shake‑up reaches a pivotal upper‑house test.
A Greens‑initiated inquiry into intergenerational housing inequality has heard bleak evidence on rents, prices, and social housing shortfalls, while the Albanese government’s capital gains tax (CGT) and negative gearing changes head to a tight Senate timetable and come under fire from major business groups.
At a public hearing held in Brisbane on Wednesday (10 June), the Greens‑led Senate inquiry heard from tenants, advocates, and service providers about how the current state of the housing market was impacting people’s lives.
The minor party said the evidence painted a picture of households pushed to their limits by rapid price growth, with families adjusting their spending, shelving life plans, and in some cases, sliding into homelessness as costs outpace incomes.
Shortages in social and affordable housing were another key theme.
Evidence to the inquiry indicated that around 640,000 people are in need of social housing across the country.
The Greens said that, against numbers of that magnitude, Labor’s commitment to build 55,000 new social and affordable dwellings over coming years “wouldn’t make a dent.”
The hearing also heard that, despite the government’s flagship Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF), total social housing stock – covering both public and community housing – went backwards between 2024 and 2025, shrinking by 240 dwellings.
So far, 1,432 homes have been delivered under the fund, while roughly 190,000 people remain on public housing waiting lists nationwide.
Tax reform bill heads to Senate inquiry
Those findings land just as the federal government asks Parliament to sign off on the first stage of its housing‑related tax reforms.
On 5 June, the initial tranche of budget measures passed the House of Representatives, with the package now subject to a short‑form Senate inquiry before it moves to the upper house.
Under a previous bill in the upper house, any significant law due to start on 1 July must face a brief committee process, with a report due by 22 June.
The CGT and negative gearing bill has therefore been referred to the Senate economics legislation committee, which is scheduled to hold public hearings on 15 and 16 June.
Labor wants the bill through the Senate by 2 July, when Parliament breaks for winter, yet the Coalition is arguing for a more extended review of the tax measures.
The government will introduce a second more technical bill later this year – which is expected to include detailed rules, sector‑specific carve‑outs, and changes to the treatment of discretionary trusts, after further consultation with key stakeholders.
Business groups warn of broad investment fallout
Meanwhile, submissions from investors and peak bodies are sharpening opposition to key elements of the plan.
On the final day of submissions on 9 June, several business groups warned that the package could blunt capital spending and job creation.
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) set out a detailed critique of the impact on business investment.
The chamber’s submission said that the measures would have a “sustained and significant impact on business investment” that would hit productivity and “runs counter to the government’s stated priority to lift productivity”.
The ACCI also took aim at the breadth of the CGT changes.
“Extending the CGT changes to all asset classes shows a clear lack of understanding of the consequences for business investment,” the submission said.
“Removing the CGT discount for all asset classes fails to reward and incentivise productive, risk-taking investment in businesses and are likely to materially influence the decision of an entrepreneur to establish a business or to invest in expanding and restructuring their business.”
The group said that the current $2 million turnover threshold beneath which businesses can access certain CGT concessions needs to be lifted to $10 million.
The Business Council of Australia (BCA) in its submission said that applying the new CGT settings beyond real estate would dampen investment appetite.
“The consequences of the bill, including the impacts on investment, have not been assessed beyond the property sector. Despite this, the entire process has been needlessly and recklessly rushed,” the submission said.
Given those concerns, the BCA called for a formal check‑back once the reforms had been fully bedded in.
“A mandatory, fully independent and transparent post-implementation review within three years is needed, to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of any changes in meeting their objectives,” it said.
[Related: CGT and negative gearing changes pass lower house]
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