Prime Minister Anthony Albanese refused to rule out future changes to the tax treatment of the family home when he was directly challenged in Parliament on Thursday.
During a rowdy Question Time where the PM was taunted for once pledging 'my word is my bond', Opposition Leader Angus Taylor asked Albanese whether he would tax the family home.
'Labor lied to Australians about its plans for new taxes. Will the Prime Minister rule out changing his mind about taxing the family home?'
Owner-occupied homes that serve as Australians' principal place of residence are exempt from capital gains tax and it would widely be seen as political poison for this arrangement to be changed.
Albanese did not provide a direct answer to Taylor. Instead, he pivoted to an attack on the Coalition's economic record, arguing it would have imposed higher taxes if elected.
'The truth is that if the Coalition had won the last election, and the Leader of the Opposition had been the one delivering the Budget on Tuesday night, we know that it would have contained a tax increase for every single Australian taxpayer, all 14 million of them,' he said.
'What I can say is that we are the party that went to the election with lower taxes, lower taxes for all 14 million Australians.'
Coalition MPs responded with loud interjections as they accused the government of abandoning commitments not to change negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount.
Anthony Albanese (pictured) refused to rule out tax changes to the family home when asked
Albanese continued: 'I was asked about tax policy and what we can rule out, and I am ruling out all of the things that [Angus Taylor], when Shadow Treasurer, went to an election on.'
'The truth is they have no credibility on tax, on cost of living, on the Budget, or on the economy. This is the Thursday after our Budget, and they are asking about something that isn't in it, rather than anything that is.'
Much later in Question Time, Albanese described the family home as 'sacrosanct', but again declined to explicitly rule out changes to its tax treatment.
Negative gearing was limited to new builds in this week's Federal Budget, and the capital gains tax discount has been changed to pre-1999 settings, removing the 50 per cent discount.
The Opposition has escalated its attack in the wake of the Budget, arguing Labor has broken promises made before the last election not to alter key housing tax settings.
Albanese sought to reposition Labor as the party defending home ownership, while accusing the Coalition of undermining key housing reforms.
He pointed specifically to the Opposition’s stance on initiatives such as the $10billion Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF).
The Coalition has pledged to scrap the scheme, branding it a failure, a characterisation Albanese argued was out of step with efforts to support housing supply and affordability.
Taylor (pictured) and the Coaliition have targeted the government on housing tax changes
'And now they say they oppose these changes as well to assist young people into home ownership, and they pretend that they care about the family home,' he said.
'I'll tell you who will protect the family home for more families, including the families not just of today but of tomorrow, it's the Australian Labor Party.'
However, in the Senate on Thursday, Foreign Minister Penny Wong confirmed the HAFF delivered zero new homes in the 2025–26 financial year.
Housing Australia has also faced criticism for missing targets and internal instability, including the resignation of chairwoman Carol Austin in October following a Treasury investigation into workplace issues.