Housing Australia would report to Parliament every quarter
Housing Australia helps people buy homes and pays for new housing. This bill would make it put out a detailed report every three months. The report would show what it spends on consultants, the outside experts paid for advice. It would also sum up its board meetings.
Official name: Housing Australia Amendment (Transparency and Reporting) Bill 2026
- Housing Australia would have to send the Minister a report every three months.
- Each report would show spending on each program, on consultants and on running costs.
- It would count housing projects funded, Help to Buy deals and home guarantees. Guarantees would be split by how much the buyers earn.
- The Minister would have to table each report in both houses of Parliament within 7 sitting days, which are days when Parliament meets. That means formally putting it before Parliament.
Who it affects
- Housing Australia: It would have to prepare and send a detailed report every three months.
- The Housing Minister: They would have to put each report before Parliament. They could not tell Housing Australia how to do it.
- Home buyers and taxpayers: They could see where housing money goes. They could see which income groups get home guarantees.
Little reporting on Housing Australia
Housing Australia is a government body that helps pay for homes. It gives guarantees that help people buy a home with a small deposit. A guarantee is a promise to cover part of the loan if things go wrong. It also pays for new housing projects. It runs a scheme to help people buy homes, called Help to Buy.
Housing Australia works under the Housing Australia Act 2018. It also follows a set of written orders from the Minister called the Investment Mandate.
Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg brought in this bill. His notes on it say it aims to make things more open. They say Parliament and the public should get reports sooner on how public money is used.
A report every quarter
The bill gives Housing Australia a new job. After each three-month block of the financial year, it must give the Minister a report on its work. Each block is called a quarter.
Each report must show how much Housing Australia spent on each of its jobs. It must show spending on each program in the Investment Mandate. It must also show spending on First Home Guarantees, consultants, general running costs and the board.
It must list how many projects got money from Housing Australia, split by program. It must give the guessed value of each home in those projects.
It must show how many Help to Buy deals were signed. It must show the price of each of those homes.
It must count the home guarantees given out. They must be split by type of guarantee and by the income decile of the buyer. An income decile sorts people into ten groups, from lowest to highest income. The senator's notes say this shows who gains.
It must sum up the notes of board meetings. It must give the number of consultants and outside suppliers used.
Say you wonder if deposit help mostly goes to people on high pay. The income decile figures in each report would show you.
Tabling in Parliament
The Minister must table each report in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. To table a report means to formally put it before Parliament. This must happen within 7 sitting days of that house after the Minister gets it.
The first report would cover the first full quarter after the law starts.
The bill also stops the Minister from telling Housing Australia how to do this reporting. That rule already applies to its Help to Buy work.
Waiting in the Senate
This is a private bill. That means a government minister did not bring it in. Senator Bragg brought it into the Senate on 19 August 2026. The Senate is the second house of Parliament. The debate on its main idea started that day.
The Senate still has to debate it and vote. If it passes, it would go to the House of Representatives. It would start the day after it was signed into law by the Governor-General, the King's representative.
Its journey through Parliament
| 19 Aug 2026 | Senate: Introduced and read a first time |
| 19 Aug 2026 | Senate: Second reading moved |