Using superannuation for a housing deposit would make homes more expensive, hinder the home ownership aspirations of young Australians, reduce retirement incomes, and lead to a significant long-term cost to the Budget, this report finds. It charts how a long list of demand-side Australian housing policies over several decades have simply made homes more expensive.

The author finds the Coalition’s proposed ‘Super Home Buyer Scheme’ under which people would be allowed to withdraw up to 40 per cent of their superannuation savings up to a maximum of $50,000, would likely hinder home ownership aspirations for younger Australians.

The  report points to 17 years of evidence from a similar New Zealand scheme to back its findings. New Zealand’s KiwiSaver allows for withdrawal for home deposits, but since its introduction home ownership rates have declined by 2.1 per cent overall and by 5.7 per cent for people in their early 30s.