Higher debt, cheaper homes as territory axes stamp duty

Jacob Shteyman | June 10, 2026

First home buyers in the ACT will no longer have to pay stamp duty, despite the territory set to surpass $12 billion in debt.

The nation-first measure was the centrepiece of Treasurer Chris Steel’s second budget, unveiled on Wednesday.

It’s a major milestone in ACT Labor’s 20-year journey to abolish stamp duty in its entirety, in favour of higher property rates.

“We’ve made some very significant decisions today to completely eliminate stamp duty for certain cohorts and for certain homes, but we will continue the work to phase out what is an inefficient and unfair tax,” Mr Steel told reporters.

From July 1, exemptions will be extended to every resident entering the property market.

Currently, only homes under $1 million are exempt and purchasers must be below income eligibility thresholds.

Stamp duty will also be dumped for pensioners, some National Disability Insurance Scheme recipients, anyone who has not owned a property for five years and owner-occupiers purchasing new builds.

The changes were a significant step forward in addressing long-standing barriers for first home buyers and new supply, Property Council ACT executive director Ashlee Berry said.

It complements a suite of policies aimed at boosting housing supply and home ownership.

A temporary reduction in the ACT lease variation charge, which levies developers for the increase in value resulting from zoning changes, would lower development costs and encourage builders to bring forward more projects, Mr Steel said.

Recent “missing middle” zoning reforms and pattern book of pre-approved housing plans will enable faster approvals and denser housing across Canberra in a bid to boost supply by 30,000 new homes by the end of 2030

While the stamp duty change will be welcomed by prospective home owners, it deepens the budget deficit by $17 million in foregone revenue in year one and almost $70 million over four years.

The budget is now forecast to happen in 2028/29, a year later than envisaged in the February mid-year update.

The headline net operating deficit, which is the government’s preferred measure, was forecast to be $323.4 million in 2026/27, up from $79.7 million in the mid-year update.

But the more accurate measure of the bottom line, according to independent economist Saul Eslake, is the cash deficit, which also includes capital or infrastructure spending.

The cash deficit is predicted to be $607 million in 2026/27, down from the $1.1 billion deficit forecast in the mid-year update.

Meanwhile, net debt is forecast to hit $12.5 billion in 2026/27 and $14.1 billion in 2029/30.

In a report for the ACT Legislative Assembly in May, Mr Eslake found the territory’s financial position had deteriorated significantly in the past decade.

While the ACT was around the middle of the pack compared to other states and territories on several metrics, its net debt as a proportion of gross state product was significantly higher than the average, which meant a higher proportion of revenue devoted to interest payments.

The government has also discontinued an annual levy of between $100 and $250 for property owners, introduced in the 2025 budget to fund a blowout in health costs, after the Commonwealth provided extra funding for public hospitals earlier in 2026.

But much of the territory’s infrastructure pipeline has been put on ice in the search for savings, Chief Minister Andrew Barr said.

He said projects such as the Kingston Arts Precinct had to be delayed because of a shortage of workers.

The new Northside Hospital will set the budget back $1.3 billion over seven years and has been identified by the government as its largest infrastructure priority for the rest of the decade.

It leaves other projects like the light rail extension to Woden, in Canberra’s south, up in the air.

While the budget does include $15 million for some lighting and lift upgrades at GIO Stadium, footy fans could be waiting a while yet for their long-promised new arena.