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After Labor secured a landslide election win, the broking industry has outlined what they want to see from the new government.
The Australian Labor Party has won the 2025 federal election and looks set to launch a range of policies and initiatives focused on housing.
After becoming the first Prime Minister to have secured a second consecutive term in 21 years, Anthony Albanese can begin acting on his pre-election pledge to lift total commitments in housing to $33 billion through measures including those aimed at making it easier to buy homes and build houses faster.
The Finance Brokers Association of Australasia (FBAA) managing director Peter White congratulated the federal government on its re-election and told The Adviser he looked forward to progressing discussions around issues including clawbacks.
“During the election campaign the Government released several policies designed to ease the cost of living pressure on Australians and to assist more people to enter the housing market. We ask the government to prioritise these measures,” White said.
White also pointed to recent research from the FBAA that found that lowering the serviceability buffer by 0.5 per cent could boost total borrowing capacity by $276 billion.
He said that lowering the serviceability buffer by the same margin “would result in hundreds of thousands more Australians being able to enter the property market and many more being able to refinance, which would ease pressure on the rental market and improve the lives of countless people.
“This is a move that costs the government nothing but will bring major results. We urge the government to direct APRA to reduce the buffer rate to 2.5 per cent immediately, as the Coalition promised to do if they had won,” he said.
Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) CEO Anja Pannek said the government needed to continue focusing on increasing housing supply and accessibility.
“With the majority of our members being small business owners, we also encourage the Government to continue to expand on support for small businesses. The re-elected government will need to deal with these issues as well as broader economic challenges including lifting productivity,” Pannek said.
“We look forward to seeing election commitments being implemented in due course. For our members, the continuation of the Labor Government will provide certainty with respect to the Help to Buy shared equity scheme, and we will be working closely with the Government and Housing Australia to support this roll out.”
Pannek said that the MFAA would continue advocating further reforms to improve home ownership access, strengthen competition in lending, and support small broking businesses.
“Our priorities also include payroll tax reform, digital adoption incentives, and fit for purpose regulation,” Pannek said.
CEO of the Commercial and Asset Finance Brokers Association of Australia (CAFBA), David Bushby, congratulated the re-elected Labor government and urged the government to work closely with businesses as it develops policies.
In comments to The Adviser, he said: “Australia faces many global headwinds and it is vital that the Government seeks the views of small and medium sized business, who are collectively, the major employers in Australia.”
CAFBA called on the government to develop “deeper, genuinely consultative relationships with such associations, as doing so can only benefit the policy development processes and outcomes”.
The trade body also welcomed the government’s policy to increase the instant asset write-off provisions to $20,000 this coming financial year but called on Labor to increase this further and to make the provision permanent.
“The instant asset write-off leads to an immediate incentive by small business owners to invest in their businesses, helping create employment and growth, not only with their suppliers, but also for their own businesses. New jobs and improved productivity are the direct outcomes,” said CAFBA chair of advocacy David Gandolfo.
Brent Starrenburg, head of commercial and asset finance at aggregator Connective, said the election win could benefit small businesses.
“Throughout the campaign, both parties presented surface-level policies for small businesses particularly on access to finance and business growth,” he said.
“The outcome may feel like the same for many: a lot of promises – but it also gives businesses an opportunity to reset expectations and refocus on growth.
“Small businesses need immediate support to manage cash flow, invest in operations and position themselves for growth. With rising costs and tightening lending conditions, the pressure is building and delays in delivering policy outcomes will only make things harder.
“That’s why the extension of the $20,000 instant asset write-off is a timely measure. It gives small businesses greater confidence to invest in tools, technology and equipment they need to remain competitive.”
[Related: What to expect from the new government]
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