The biggest impact of the government’s proposed property tax changes may not be on property prices.
It may be on the way Australians finance investment property.
For decades, property investing in Australia has followed a familiar formula. Find the right property, hold it for the long term, and let rental income, capital growth, and the tax system do their work.
The government’s proposed changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax don’t change the fact that Australians continue to see residential property as a long-term investment. But they could change the questions investors ask before they buy.
That’s because the conversation is becoming less about maximising tax outcomes and more about making sure an investment still works over the long haul.
If that happens, investment lending will matter more than ever.
A different conversation
According to Reserve Bank research, Australia had around 2.3 million individual residential property investors in 2022–23, with around 70 per cent owning just one investment property. Most aren’t professional investors. They’re ordinary Australians using property to build wealth over time.
They’re also active borrowers. Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show lenders approved around $41.5 billion in new investor housing loan commitments during the March quarter of 2026 alone. Investors also refinanced more than $25 billion of loans with new lenders over the same period. That tells us many investors are regularly reviewing how they finance their investments rather than simply setting and forgetting.
The government has proposed preserving existing negative gearing arrangements for residential properties held before budget night while changing the tax treatment of future purchases of established investment properties from 1 July 2027. Separate changes have also been proposed to the way capital gains tax would apply to future capital gains, subject to transitional arrangements if the legislation passes.
Whether those measures ultimately become law or not, they’ve prompted an important discussion.
For years, many investor conversations centred on borrowing capacity, interest rates, and tax outcomes. Those things will always matter.
But they may not be the only things that matter.
Increasingly, investors are asking different questions:
- Will this loan still suit me in 10 years?
- What happens if interest rates stay higher than expected?
- Can I comfortably absorb a vacancy or unexpected costs?
- How much flexibility do I have if my circumstances change?
They’re sensible questions. And they’re the sort of questions that become more important when you’re planning to own an asset for 20 years or more.
Rethinking investment lending
That’s why I think we need to think differently about investment lending.
For a long time, we’ve judged investment loans on three things: price, borrowing capacity, and how quickly a loan can be approved.
Those things aren’t becoming less important.
But they aren’t the whole story either.
A good investment loan should also help people stay invested while giving them options when opportunities arise.
Flexibility around repayments, longer-term certainty where appropriate, offset accounts, and redraw facilities aren’t just product features. Used well, they can help investors manage the ups and downs that inevitably come with owning property over many years. They can also make it easier to access equity and respond when another investment opportunity presents itself, rather than having to restructure an entire lending arrangement. This is where solutions such as AMP Bank’s Equity Flex Loan can play a practical role, giving eligible investors a way to unlock available equity, while the 10-year interest-only feature can help release cash flow. This provides customers with more breathing room, greater flexibility, and keeps their existing lending strategy working harder for them.
This isn’t about encouraging people to borrow more, but recognising that buying an investment property is only the beginning. Holding it over the long term successfully is often the bigger challenge.
For investors with established equity, having access to a flexible lending option can also help them manage renovation costs, portfolio improvements, or future investment opportunities without having to start again every time their needs evolve.
The broker opportunity
That changes the role of brokers too.
Customers will always expect brokers to find competitive finance. Increasingly though, they also want someone who can help them think through how today’s lending decisions fit into their broader financial plans.
That’s a different conversation from simply finding the sharpest rate.
It’s one that looks at flexibility, resilience, and what happens when life doesn’t unfold exactly as planned. It also creates a timely opportunity for brokers to introduce lending options that help customers create more cash flow and use existing equity more strategically, particularly where speed, simplicity, and flexibility can make the difference between a missed opportunity and a confident next step.
As investment decisions become more complex, good brokers have an opportunity to demonstrate even greater value, not just by arranging finance, but by helping customers build lending strategies that stand the test of time.
Looking ahead
For lenders, there’s a challenge in that.
If investors’ priorities are changing, our products need to keep pace. Competition will always be driven by price, service, and speed. Increasingly though, it will also be shaped by how well lending solutions support customers over the life of an investment, not just at settlement. That is the thinking behind products like AMP Bank’s Equity Flex Loan, which are designed to support customers who want to free up cash flow, to access available equity with more control, more choice, and less friction as their investment plans change.
Much of the debate around the budget has focused on tax policy and housing affordability. That’s understandable, but another shift may come from it.
Property investing has always been about choosing the right asset. The next phase may be just as much about choosing the right lending strategy.
The investors who perform best over the next 20 years may not simply be those who borrow the most. They may be the ones whose finance gives them the flexibility to manage changing markets, the confidence to hold quality assets for the long term, and, when the time is right, the capacity to take advantage of the next investment opportunity.
That’s why I think the next chapter in investment lending won’t be defined by who offers the biggest loan. It will be defined by who helps customers make better long-term investment decisions.
