Western Australia's second-largest home builder, ABN Group, has applauded independent Senator Nick Xenophon's call to allow first home buyers to purchase a home using money from their superannuation savings.
Senator Xenophon is expected to introduce legislative changes in the spring session of parliament to allow first home buyers to access super savings to pay for a house deposit, in a similar scheme to one operating in Canada.
In Canada, up to $25,000 of a person's superannuation savings can be used to purchase a first home, while it has the safeguard in that the money must be paid back over 15 years.
Senator Xenophon said the scheme had made a dramatic difference for housing affordability.
"With more and more Australians finding it difficult to break into home ownership, adopting the Canadian scheme would make a difference to many thousands of Australians each year," he said.
"There's something strange about being able to access your super fund if you are about to default on your housing loan, but you can't access it to put a deposit on a home in the first place."
ABN Group managing director Dale Alcock agreed that the rules needed to be changed to make it easier for first home buyers to save for a house deposit.
He said there was a risk that many first home buyers would not be able to save for their own home without intervention from the federal government.
"We should be calling on the federal government to move quickly and propose legislation to allow the speedy passage of the changes needed and call on the federal opposition to support the change," Mr Alcock said.
"Given that a vast amount of people's income goes into superannuation, this suggestion makes absolute sense.
"For young people, currently their superannuation is quite intangible, however by allowing this change, all of a sudden it has great relevance as it allows them to use these savings to enter the housing market – which in many ways is a kind of superannuation in any event."
