Relaxation of stamp duty rules could unlock $8.7bn in investment and create 35,000 new homes
Newly uncovered documents published by the AFR have revealed a major rift between the Property Council of Australia (PCA) and the financial services watchdog over the treatment of stamp duty disclosures.
In a letter sent to Labor treasurer Jim Chalmers and Labor housing minister Clare O’Neil, the PCA said the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has “artificially distorted market behaviour and investment decisions” by requiring super funds to disclose all stamp duty fees on real estate investments.
This is dissuading members from investing in unlisted property, which could in turn be having a negative impact on Labor’s housebuilding targets.
Under current rules (specifically Regulatory Guidance 97), super funds must disclose the amount they pay in stamp duty on real estate investments. This is potentially making real estate investments “look worse on paper than they really are”, the PCA previously warned.
ASIC committed to a review of the disclosures last August, with ASIC chair Joe Longo saying: “We want to ensure red tape isn’t unnecessarily holding back investments. A significant portion of Australia’s $4 trillion superannuation system already invests in property assets, but we have heard there is appetite for more.”
In November 2025, the regulator decided not to scrap stamp duty disclosure requirements, but proposed that stamp duty be disclosed as an average amount over seven years, rather than an annual sum.
“The proposals are about promoting regulatory balance and addressing problems without compromising on essential disclosure for consumers,” said ASIC commissioner Simone Constant (pictured).
The PCA called the review “a missed opportunity” to unlock investment in the Australian housing sector. It insisted that stamp duty be completely excluded as a transaction cost, instead reclassifying it as an incidental cost or an operating cost.
“While there are always multiple factors impacting market decisions, there is no longer any question that the disclosure of stamp duty in RG 97 has to date artificially distorted market behaviour and investment decisions,” the PCA said in its letter to Chalmers and O’Neil.
It continued: “No matter whether further improvements can be made to the investment environment for superannuation funds now or in the future, the proposals outlined above to address the distortions caused by RG 97 are actionable and will serve to enhance transparency.
“For that reason we urge ASIC to act as contemplated on distorting regulatory settings and red tape.”
The PCA estimates that excluding stamp duty from the calculation of fee-adjusted returns on real estate investment will bring $8.7 billion worth of investment into the Australian housing sector and will help to build some 35,000 homes.
Labor has a goal of building 1.2 million new homes by 2029, but build rates have consistently fallen dramatically short of this target.
