Making life more affordable

At a glance

We’re also helping to make life easier and more affordable.

We’re protecting renters’ rights and making it easier to buy your first home.

By delivering more homes near jobs and transport, we’re also increasing housing supply to make housing more affordable.

And we’re helping households save money on energy bills by switching to cheaper offers.

A fairer property market

In Victoria and around the world, young people are being locked out of housing.

The housing crisis shows the status quo just isn’t working.

But Victoria has more first-homebuyers than any other state.

With this Budget we’re helping more Victorians get into homes they can afford, in places they want to live.

The Government continues to provide $10,000 First Home Owner Grants and stamp duty exemptions and reductions for eligible first home buyers.

This Budget also extends concessions for buying off-the-plan, which saves home buyers money and supports housing supply.

But too many Victorians feel like the odds are stacked against them when they’re trying to make the biggest purchase of their life.

That’s why the Victorian Government has also delivered reforms to make the property market fairer.

We’ve cracked down on underquoting by making real estate agents publish the seller’s reserve price before an auction, so prospective buyers don’t waste time on properties they can’t afford.

Later this year, we’ll also introduce legislation requiring agents to publish the sale price of homes.

We’re introducing changes to save buyers money on pre-building inspections.

This will make sellers pay for building and pest inspections, saving potential buyers the cost of multiple inspections.

This Budget also invests $97 million to continue delivering housing reform and improving confidence in the building industry.

This includes $16 million to protect consumers and raise standards in the building industry through implementation of registration and licensing requirements.

Unlocking land and access to affordable housing

When young people are priced out of the areas they grew up in, they may be forced to move far away, costing them more time in the car or on public transport each day.

That’s why the Victorian Government is delivering more homes in train and tram zones, close to transport, work and services.

Tunnelling on the Suburban Rail Loop – Australia’s biggest housing project – will start in 2026. The first stage will help deliver around 70,000 new homes over the next 30 years.

This Budget continues our work to unlock land for more housing, and support the community housing sector to deliver more and better homes across Victoria.

We've made major investments that will deliver more than 16,000 social and affordable homes across Victoria – with construction on more than 12,000 homes underway or complete.

Building on this success, this Budget invests a further $860 million over 5 years into the Social Housing Growth Fund to go towards the delivery of more than 7,000 additional social housing homes over the next decade.

We’ve also made changes to improve the planning system, so better decisions are made faster and more homes are built, more quickly.

$37 million is being put towards unlocking better uses of Victorian land in this Budget, including:

• $16 million to continue delivering on our 10-year plan for Melbourne’s greenfields and unlock new family homes with backyards.
• $11 million to update Victoria’s planning legislation and systems to make sure decisions are made faster.
• $9.8 million for the Development Facilitation Program to continue its work to fast-track significant housing projects.

More affordable energy

The Victorian Government is helping families save money on their energy bills by switching to cheaper solar power and installing more energy-efficient appliances.

We’ve helped to put more than 342,000 solar systems on roofs.

We’ve helped to install almost 84,000 energy-efficient hot water systems.

This Budget invests $28 million to help up to 27,000 eligible households install an energy efficient hot water system, with rebates of up to $1,400 for locally-made products, and $1,000 for others.

And through Australia’s largest energy upgrades program, we’ve helped more than 2.4 million households and 180,000 businesses become more energy efficient, saving on their bills.

Together, these investments mean Victorians can save more than $1,300 a year on their energy bills.

This Budget accelerates investment in renewable energy generation and storage under the Renewable Energy Transformation Agreement with the Commonwealth, delivering more reliable energy for Victorians and pushing electricity prices down. We’re also investing:

• $10 million to support action on energy efficiency by the community housing sector, including direct funding for energy efficiency upgrades.
• $2 million to assist community organisations to promote awareness and educate Victorians on climate action.
• $1.3 million to support faster environmental approvals for renewable energy projects, delivering more affordable power for Victorians.

We’re also working with the Commonwealth to support the energy transition by jointly funding the Victorian Renewable Energy TAFE Centre of Excellence at Gippsland TAFE in Morwell, with connecting hubs in Ballarat and Warrnambool, training up the next generation of renewable energy workers.

We’re investing $10 million to train plumbers and gas fitters in renewables, delivering Victoria’s contribution to the Commonwealth co-funded National Training Centre in New Energy Skills. Building on this investment, we’re providing an additional $5 million for Solar Victoria to upskill plumbers and other tradespeople by extending its electrification training program.

Victorian Midday Power Saver

We’re seeing Victoria’s investment in renewable power pay off. Solar power means our state produces extra electricity during the day, meaning we can deliver the Midday Power Saver.

About 2.6 million households will be eligible for 3 hours of free power in the middle of the day, every day. Families could save up to $300 per year off their energy bills, and up to $1,070 if they have solar panels and batteries.