The Morrison Government’s HomeBuilder grant has been a poorly-kept secret, with much speculation over the last few days. It was officially released this week, and here are the details.

• The grant is $25,000.
• To be eligible you must be an Australian citizen aged 18 years plus.
• You must have an income of less than $120,000 for individuals, or $200,000 for couples.
• You must spend between $150,000 and $750,000 on renovations on a home valued below $1.5 million or;
• Be building a new home worth less than $750,000, including land value.
• The grant is tax-free, and will apply to owner-occupiers of all property types.

At the most basic level, I am in favour of grants that support the construction industry and help Australians buy property. But I do have some concerns about the current implementation of the HomeBuilder Grant.

I think the crossover of couples who are earning less than $200,00 per year but have more than $150,000 spare to spend on a renovation project is low. If this is supposed to be a grant to help low-and-middle income families get into a home, or upgrade their home, I think these measures are missing the mark.

That said, the measures to support the building of new homes are better. The $750,000 threshold aligns with other State-level grants, such as New South Wales’ First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme and Victoria’s First Home Owner Grant.

These grants should work together to make it significantly more feasible for the average Aussie to buy a ‘white-picket-fence’ home in up-and-coming regions on the outskirts of capital cities, and the criteria of requiring new construction will ensure that these areas are being developed and having value added to them.