Unions call for capital gains rethink as approvals fall
The union’s top has called on the Albanian government to push ahead with tax reform to help more young workers get into homes, as new data shows Australia is falling short of its housing supply target.
The Australian Council of Trade Unions has called for capital gains tax relief to be halved from 50 per cent to 25 per cent, arguing that the generous concession encourages professional landlords to invest in property, driving up prices.
In a submission to the Greens-led parliamentary inquiry into the rebate, the ACTU said it was, at best, a “failed tax policy that has long been in need of an overhaul”.
At worst, it is a “tax avoidance scheme for the wealthiest Australians that will help drive inequality to record highs, often leaving young people out of homeownership”.
ACTU president Michele O’Neil said: “Too many workers will no longer be able to afford to live near where they work, and an increasing number will not be able to save enough for a deposit.”
“At the same time, rising rents and house prices are outpacing the amount of money people can save each week.”
Calls to reduce the discount, which was introduced by the Howard government in 1999 and aimed to compensate investors for inflation, were also echoed by think tanks such as the Grattan Institute and the NSW Treasury.
In an interview with Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz recently published in The Monthly magazine, federal Finance Minister Jim Chalmers said the government was instead focusing on other ways to make housing more affordable by stimulating new supply.
On Tuesday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed more than 195,000 new homes would be approved across the country in 2025 after housing permits fell 14.9 per cent to 15,542 in December.
In order to reach the national housing agreement’s target of 1.2 million new homes within five years, the sector needs to build 240,000 new homes every year.
ABS head of construction statistics Daniel Rossi said the fall in approvals in December was due to a 29.8 per cent drop in private housing approvals, excluding houses.
This follows a 29.6 percent increase in November and shows the volatile nature of the data.
Although approvals are still below target, the trend rate has been rising steadily since the beginning of 2024.
“We have seen a three-year increase in building approvals, with building approvals in 2025 up 13 per cent on the previous year,” Housing Minister Clare O’Neil said.
“We know there is still much work to be done to reverse a generation-long housing crisis.”
House prices increased by 8.6 percent in 2025, according to real estate data firm Cotality.
Cotality research director Tim Lawless said values rose a further 0.8 per cent nationally in January, driven by chronic supply shortages.
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