Will housing reforms make a difference? Migrants weigh in

Rosa Dhayan lives 90km from her university campus because it is one of the only areas where she can afford to rent. (Supplied: Rosa Dhayan) Asian Australians have expressed mixed opinions about the housing and tax reforms announced in the federal budget. Some plan to sell their investment properties ahead of incoming changes to capital gains tax discounts, while others claim the financial losses would be too great. Renters are worried their costs could increase too, despite the government's reform designed to ultimately lower rents. Link copiedShareShare articleRosa Dhayan feels the impact of Australia's housing crisis every day. The Indonesian masters student who is studying social work lives in the southern Brisbane suburb of Mount Gravatt because it is one of the few areas where she can afford to rent. But it means she has to travel two hours on public transport to Southern Cross University's Gold Coast campus where she studies. Federal budget 2026: Stay up to date with the budget aftermath in our live blog. She also lives a further 30-minute drive away from her work at Brisbane Airport, which is on the other side of the city. The 26-year-old shares the place with her partner, splitting the $450 a week it costs for rent and bills. The federal government unveiled major reform to tax incentives in Tuesday's budget, designed to help people like Ms Dhayan instead of allowing property investors to continue to maximise their profits and offset their losses. Tax perks that property investors have used for decades to maximise profits and offset their losses will be restricted from tonight, in one of the most significant changes to the tax system in years. By restricting negative gearing and scrapping capital gains tax (CGT) discounts, the government said 75,000 more people would become home owners, while house price growth would slow and eventually lead to lower rents. Under the new rules, only a newly built investment properties can have losses deducted from a person's income tax under negative gearing rules. And from July 2027, the government will scrap the flat 50 per cent CGT discount for investments of more than 12 months, a measure largely sold as addressing intergenerational housing inequality. In the national conversation about Australia's housing and cost-of-living crisis, migrants are routinely cast as a driver of rising prices. They have been blamed for pushing up rents, crowding first home buyers out of the market, and stretching demand beyond what supply can meet. But their own perspectives on the policies designed to address these pressures are rarely heard. The ABC spoke to Australia's diaspora communities to find out what they think about the budget's housing reforms. Zilong Qiao said he was looking to sell his investment property before he and other landlords lost the CGT discount next year. The entrepreneur, who moved to Australia from northern China 17 years ago, bought an investment property in Melbourne's western beachside suburb of Altona two years ago. Zilong Qiao says he supports the housing reforms. (Supplied) "The market is extremely tough right now," he told the ABC. "So there are still losses, and there won't be good returns. "In fact, the losses could be quite significant." Despite standing to lose money on the sale, Mr Qiao still supported the housing reforms. "People can no longer afford to buy homes on ordinary incomes, nor can they maintain a decent standard of living in Australia on normal wages," he said. "What used to be the beautiful Australian dream has now become almost impossible to realise. He believed the budget was "one of the most closely watched" due to "extreme anxiety" around the rising cost of living. Mary Sunarho has been investing in properties in Australia for more than 14 years. (Supplied: Mary Sunarho) Property investor Mary Sunarho, who is originally from Indonesia, has been buying properties in Australia since 2012. She is an Australian citizen living in Sydney, but owns two investment properties in Brisbane because she feels that market offers stronger rental returns. Despite the government predicting more investors would sell their properties under the tax changes, Ms Sunarho said she would be less likely to sell because she believed she would now make less profit because of the CGT changes. She said the negative gearing reform also wouldn't impact her because she and her husband focused on positively geared investments. She said the ideal housing policy needed to strike "a balance between investors and tenants". "So investors are still willing to invest in property, while tenants can still access affordable and decent housing," she said. Rico Halim owns his home in the inner-west Sydney suburb of Leichhardt. The Indonesian property agent, who is a permanent resident in Australia, said he was "a bit surprised" by the government's changes to negative gearing rules and CGT but still planned to purchase an investment prope

Will housing reforms make a difference? Migrants weigh in

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