One Nation’s 5% housing deposit scheme a recipe for disaster

Friday 17 July 2026

Australia’s housing market has endured more than 25 years of demand-side policy stimulus in the form of home buyer grants, shared equity schemes, low-deposit schemes, and the like.

Every single time one of these policies has been implemented, they have added fuel to Australia’s housing bonfire and helped propel home values higher.

As a result, demand-side policy interventions are almost always self-defeating with respect to affordability, as they drive up property prices.

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About the author

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.