Prime Minister Scott Morrison says a re-elected Coalition government will allow first home buyers to tap into their superannuation to help buy a home.
Mr Morrison unveiled the policy during the Liberal Party's official campaign launch on Sunday, where he told voters he is "just warming up" and outlined his plans for a "strong economy and strong future".
With less than a week to go until polling day, housing policies were a central focus of his speech, including the plan to allow first home buyers to tap up to 40 per cent from their superannuation - to a ceiling of $50,000 - to purchase the property.
"Superannuation is there to help Australians in their retirement," the prime minister said.
"The evidence shows that the best thing we can do to help Australians achieve financial security in their retirement is to help them own their own home."
The Super Home Buyer Scheme will apply to new and existing homes with the invested amount to be returned to their superannuation fund when the house is sold, including a share of any capital gain.
The government says it will mean Australians can buy their first home sooner, by slashing the time taken to save a deposit by three years on average.
Labor was quick to oppose the plan, with housing spokesperson Jason Clare calling it a "last desperate act from a dying government".
"You shouldn't have to raid your super to buy a home, and you won't under Labor," he told media on Sunday afternoon.
Mr Clare argued the plan would not help those struggling the most to enter the housing market, and would drive up prices.
Former Labor prime minister Paul Keating, who was the architect of the super system - a fund for Australians to live on in retirement - also weighed in, saying in a statement the policy change "amounts to no more than another frontal assault by the Liberal Party on the superannuation system."
Housing Industry Association managing director Graham Wolfe welcomed the decision, saying it is an initiative the association has championed in the past.
But the Financial Services Council is concerned the proposal weakens the sole purpose of super, which is to provide higher standards of living in retirement.
"The FSC recognises there is a correlation between renting in retirement and poverty amongst older Australians, but Australians should not have to choose between a home and their retirement savings," CEO Blake Briggs said.
Also from 1 July, Mr Morrison pledged that Australians over the age of 55 would be able to downsize their property and invest up to $300,000 in their superannuation fund outside of the existing contribution caps, from the proceeds of a sale.
Pensioners who downsize would also be given greater flexibility by exempting the proceeds of the sale of the property from the assets test for longer.
Currently, this benefit is available to Australians over the age of 65 and making this change will see up to 1.3 million people become eligible to access it.
Earlier on Sunday, Opposition leader Anthony Albanese said Labor would back that policy targeting older Australians, calling it a "modest announcement" to extend a downsizing program that it has previously supported.
"But we support a comprehensive plan on housing," he told the ABC's Insiders program.
"This suggestion by the government is a practical one. We will support it, but we will have much more in our offer to the Australian people next Saturday."
'Better days are ahead'
Former prime ministers John Howard and Tony Abbott were among the Liberal stalwarts in the audience in Brisbane, as the prime minister started his speech looking back at his time as leader since the last election.
"None of us could have imagined what followed that last election. We already knew drought ... particularly here in Queensland, we already experienced devastating floods ... but more would follow, as we know, and most recently, as with the fires, as with the cyclones, the [COVID-19] pandemic - one in 100 years - and the global recession it caused," he said.
"It’s been one of the most challenging times we have ever known. But I’m here to tell you today that despite what we have faced, we have remained true to the promise of Australia. And Australia has prevailed.
"Australia has stood tall."
Mr Morrison repeated , saying the pandemic "was a time for strength, a time for pushing through".
"I had one focus as your prime minister: to save the country."
He said Australia "stands on the edge of a new era of opportunity" and that "better days are now ahead".
"We cannot take them for granted. As a government, we have the high ideas to secure that opportunity and I know our economic plan is working because Australians are working, and heading in the right direction."
Meanwhile, Mr Albanese also addressed Labor Party supporters in Brisbane, in an effort to boost Labor's support in the crucial state.
He told the rally the country could not do with another term of the same government.
"We can't afford three more years of the same, three more years of a prime minister who looks at the problems facing us and says 'that's not my job'," he told the crowd.
"When you vote for a Labor candidate, you're voting to make life better, for yourself, your children, your community, your state of Queensland and your nation."
Earlier, Mr Albanese announced the Opposition's $1 billion election commitment for Australia's advanced manufacturing industry.
Labor's fund aims to build the nation's industrial base and create new opportunities in key manufacturing industries such as transport, defence, food processing, medical science, and renewables.
With AAP.
