Key Highlights

  • Labor promises 26,500 homes reserved for first-home buyers.
  • The Coalition would scrap the 7.5% short-stay levy.
  • The Greens propose a two-year rent freeze and a rent regulator.
  • Beyond stamp duty, the parties' promises differ on housing Supply and tax.

Stamp duty thresholds have dominated the Victorian election debate, but the parties' other property tax promises could matter just as much to buyers, landlords and short-stay hosts. Labor promises 26,500 homes reserved for first-home buyers, the Coalition wants to scrap the short-stay levy, and the Greens are pitching a two-year rent freeze. With Victorians voting on 28 November and caretaker mode under way, here is who is promising what.

Labor: 26,500 homes reserved for first-home buyers

Labor's headline housing promise is to build 26,500 new homes reserved for first-home buyers, according to the election policy tracker. The homes would be sold at market prices in Melbourne and major regional cities, with the first expected in 2027.

The tracker gives no cost for the policy, and it does not say how the homes would be reserved, which sites would be used, or whether buyers would face income or price limits.

Because the homes would be sold at market prices, the promise is about access rather than a discount. It would reduce competition from investors and upgraders for that stock, but buyers would still need to finance the full price.

Labor also says it will build more than 300,000 homes by 2051 through its Activity Centres program, including inner-city towers of up to 20 storeys, and redevelop the cohealth site in Collingwood to deliver 69 new social homes.

On tax, Labor promises to roll back its own land tax increases, returning rates to previous levels progressively over six years. On that timeline, the full rollback would not be complete until the early 2030s.

Coalition: scrap the short-stay levy

The Coalition, made up of the Liberal and National parties, promises to repeal taxes on short-stay accommodation, according to the tracker. That would remove Victoria's short-stay levy.

The levy has applied since 1 January 2025 at 7.5% on short-stay accommodation bookings of less than 28 days, including bookings made through platforms such as Airbnb and Stayz, according to the Victorian Government.

When it was announced in August 2024, the government said the levy was expected to raise about $60 million a year. All of that Revenue was to go to Homes Victoria to build and maintain social and affordable housing, with 25% to be invested in regional Victoria.

The government's stated aim was to make more homes available for long-term rent. Then-treasurer Tim Pallas said: "We're unlocking more homes for real rentals, and unlocking more funding for social housing."

Not every short stay is caught. The government said homeowners renting out all or part of their main home are exempt, as are hotels, motels and caravan parks. Bookings made before 1 January 2025 were also excluded.

Scrapping the levy would remove a cost for hosts and guests, but also a dedicated revenue stream for social housing.

The Coalition's other repeal promises include Payroll Tax on schools, taxes on GP visits and the emergency services levy on family homes. On land tax, it says it will reverse Labor's increases, with the aim to "reverse the threshold for land tax to 2023 levels".

It also pledges no new or increased taxes and a cash surplus by 2032. The tracker does not give a cost for repealing the short-stay levy.

Hypothetical example: what the short-stay levy adds

Hypothetical example: a guest books a Melbourne apartment for four nights at $250 a night, a total of $1,000 in accommodation charges.

At 7.5%, the short-stay levy adds $75, taking the cost to $1,075 before any platform fees that may apply.

Now take a host whose property earns $40,000 a year in eligible short-stay bookings. At 7.5%, the levy on those bookings would total $3,000 a year.

If the Coalition's repeal went ahead, that $3,000 would no longer be charged. Whether the host or the guest benefits depends on how prices are set after the change. The figures are illustrative only. The levy would not apply at all if the host were renting out part of their own main home.

The Greens: rent freeze, regulator and no auctions

The Greens focus more on renters than on buyers. According to the tracker, they want a two-year statewide rent freeze, with no rent increases in the first two years of a new tenancy and later rises tied to wage growth or inflation.

They would spend $50 million on an independent rental regulator with a landlord licensing scheme.

The party also wants to abolish street auctions and require homes to be sold at a fixed price, and to spend $4 billion on 88,000 new public homes, according to the tracker.

The Greens also say they will try to introduce an ultra-wealth tax on investors owning more than $5 million in residential property.

Planning and the bigger housing picture

Stamp duty remains the other big dividing line, from the Coalition's $1 million first-home-buyer threshold to the Greens' plan to abolish duty on homes under $1.1 million, but the parties' differences go well beyond it.

The two major parties are also split on planning. The Coalition promises to scrap Labor's Activity Centres and give locals a greater voice in planning. It would also expand the Capital City Zone to Fishermans Bend, North Melbourne, Fitzroy and Collingwood.

The state promises sit alongside federal changes that are already law. The Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026 limits negative gearing for residential property bought after 7:30pm AEST on 12 May 2026 to new builds, applying from 1 July 2027, with existing holdings grandfathered.

The same Act replaces the 50% CGT discount with cost-base indexation and a 30% minimum tax for gains accruing from 1 July 2027.

Interest rates add pressure. The Reserve Bank lifted the cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.85% on 3 November, and its board statement said "housing prices have fallen significantly".

What to watch

  • Before 28 November: any costings for Labor's 26,500-home plan and for the Coalition's short-stay levy repeal.
  • 28 November 2026: Victorian state election.
  • After the election: legislation would be needed to repeal the short-stay levy or change land tax.
  • December 2026: the federal Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO).
  • 1 July 2027: federal negative gearing and CGT changes start to apply.