Private Rent Assistance (PRA)
Private rent assistance is financial assistance provided directly by state and territory governments to low-income households experiencing difficulty in securing or maintaining private rental accommodation. PRA is usually provided as a one-off form of support such as bond loans and rental grants but can also include ongoing rental subsidies and payment of relocation expenses.
PRA may vary between states and territories and some products are not offered by all states and territories (e.g. rental grants are offered by New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania; relocation expenses are offered by Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory). For more information, see the Data quality statement for PRA.
In 2018–19, PRA was provided to 91,800 unique households; more unique households than in 2017–18 (88,300 households) (Supplementary table PRA.1). Households may receive more than one type of PRA and they may also receive multiple assistance payments for each type of PRA. There were around 118,400 total instances of PRA payments (Supplementary table PRA.3), with just over 117,500 households receiving the various types of PRA (Supplementary table PRA.2).
Consistent over time, bond loans (72,200 households) were the most common type of PRA in 2018–19, followed by one-off rental grants (32,900 households) (Supplementary table PRA.5).
Of the 91,800 unique households provided with PRA in 2018–19:
- The majority (73%) were households with the main applicant under 44 years of age; including 31% who were aged 25–34 years.
- 16% were Indigenous households.
- Other government pension/allowance was the main source of income for 80% of households, with a further 19% receiving employee income (Supplementary table PRA.4).
Location
The different states and territories provide different types of PRA. In 2018–19:
- Queensland (19,500 or 27%) and South Australia (16,400 or 23%) provided the greatest number of bond loans.
- South Australia provided half of the 32,900 one-off rental grants (16,400 or 50%).
- New South Wales provided ongoing rental subsidies to around 6,200 households (Supplementary table PRA.2).
In 2018–19, 3 in 5 (62%) PRA payments were to households located in Major cities, with a further 23% in Inner regional areas, 13% in Outer regional areas and around 1% in both Remote and Very remote areas (Supplementary table PRA.5).
Government assistance for home ownership
Over time, government policies and programs have focused on supporting Australians to achieve home ownership. Home ownership can be seen as providing greater security in retirement and a generally stable tenure type. Under current policy settings, the Australian Government’s assistance to homebuyers includes the:
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First Home Loan Deposit (FHLD) Scheme: This scheme was introduced in 2020 and provides a guarantee for eligible first home buyers on low and middle incomes to purchase a home (up to maximum purchase price) with a deposit of as little as 5 per cent and without needing to pay for lenders mortgage insurance. The FHLD scheme has released 10,000 places this first financial year, and another 10,000 will be made available from July 2020. An eligible first home buyer’s home loan is available from participating lenders and up to 15 per cent of the value of the property purchased will be guaranteed by the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC).
This scheme can be used in conjunction with the First Home Super Saver Scheme or state and territory first homeowner grants and stamp duty concessions (NHFIC 2020).
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First Home Super Saver (FHSS) Scheme: This scheme was introduced in the 2017–18 Federal Budget to reduce pressure on housing affordability. The FHSS scheme enables eligible people to save money for a first home using their superannuation fund arrangements (ATO 2019).
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Indigenous Home Ownership Program: This scheme was introduced in 1975, and is available to help Indigenous customers buy their first home (IBA 2019).
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First Home Owner Grant (FHOG): This scheme was introduced on 1 July 2000 and is a national scheme, which is funded and administered by the states and territories. The FHOG was made available to offset the effect of the GST on home ownership. Under the scheme, a one-off grant is payable to first homeowners that satisfy all the eligibility criteria (Australian Government 2020).
Some of these forms of assistance can be used in conjunction with one another and/or state and territory first homeowner grants and stamp duty concessions.
Home Purchase Assistance (HPA)
Home Purchase Assistance (HPA) is a form of government financial assistance administered by each state and territory. HPA includes a range of financial assistance for eligible households to improve their access to, and maintain, home ownership. HPA may vary from state to state and some products are not offered by all states and territories.
HPA can include:
- direct lending
- concessional loans
- mortgage relief
- interest rate assistance
- deposit assistance
- other assistance grants.
In 2018–19, the states and territories provided HPA to almost 42,500 unique households across Australia (Supplementary table HPA.1). There were around 43,000 households receiving any type of HPA, illustrating that households may be provided with more than one type of HPA (Supplementary table HPA.2).
The most common form of HPA was direct lending, with almost 37,600 households receiving this type in 2018–19. This has been stable over the last 5 years (Supplementary table HPA.2). There were fewer households provided with interest rate assistance, but the number has been steadily increasing; from 3,300 in 2013–14 to 4,000 in 2018–19.
Of the 42,500 unique households receiving HPA in 2018–19:
- Half (50%) of households assisted with home purchase had a main applicant aged 25–44 with a further 21% aged 45–54. One-quarter of households had a main applicant aged over 55 years (24%).
- One-quarter (24%) were households earning a gross income of less than $700 per week (or $36,400 per annum) (Supplementary table HPA.3).
Location
In 2018–19, HPA was predominantly provided in Western Australia (20,800 households or 49%) and South Australia (18,800 or 44%) (Supplementary table HPA.1). Direct lending was the main type of HPA assistance in these areas. South Australia also offered interest rate assistance (paid to 4,000 households).
In 2018–19, the majority of households that receive each type of HPA assistance were in Major cities (72%, or 31,000), followed by households in Outer regional areas (13%, or 5,800) and Inner regional areas (12%, or 5,000) (Supplementary table HPA.4). There were very few households that received each type of HPA assistance in either Remote (2%, or 1,000) or Very remote areas (less than 1%, or 200). Households may receive more than one type of assistance.
Glossary