After a decisive victory in the 2025 Federal Election, the Labor Government is set to roll out a wide range of initiatives aimed at strengthening Australia’s energy sector and easing housing pressures. Our experts take a look at what lies ahead.
Energy
Renewables
The Labor Government will continue to invest in the renewable energy sector with a promise of delivering renewable energy that is cheap and clean, and a goal to transition to 82% renewables by 2030.
The Labor Government plans to unlock $8 billion of additional investment into renewables and low emission technologies, which it states will be achieved through its $2 billion expansion of its Clean Energy Finance Corporation.
Batteries
As part of its energy plan and under its $2.3 billion Cheaper Home Batteries Program, the Labor Government pledges to make batteries and, importantly, the installation of batteries cheaper, which will resultantly reduce the energy bills for households, small businesses, and community facilities.
The Labor Government states that analysis conducted by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water shows that this will assist households in reducing their reliance on the grid, which will assist with electricity pricing.
Energy bill relief
Accessible from 1 July 2025, the Labor Government has pledged an additional $150 direct energy bill relief for households and small businesses.
Household Energy Upgrades fund
The Labor Government will invest $1 billion into the Household Energy Upgrades Fund to continue providing low-cost finance options to assist Australians in financing the upfront cost associated with modern energy efficient appliances and improvements. This will encourage households to upgrade their homes to be more energy efficient.
Social Housing Energy Performance Initiative
The Labor Government has pledged to invest $800 million into the Social Housing Energy Performance Initiative to reduce the cost of energy bills for those living in social housing. This will help to ensure homes remain liveable while lowering emissions.
Community Energy Upgrades Fund
Labor will put $100 million toward the Community Energy Upgrades to support energy upgrades, reduce emissions, and resultantly, lower costs for community facilities. The Government stipulates that this could be for more efficient lighting or battery storage.
Property and housing
The Labor Government has pledged to give all first home buyers access to a 5% deposit. This deposit will be made available to all first home buyers, with no restriction on income or caps on places. It will also guarantee a portion of the first home buyer’s loan, ensuring that these individuals do not have to pay Lenders Mortgage Insurance.
It will invest $10 billion toward the construction of 100,000 homes, which will only be available to first home buyers. To do this, Labor will partner with state developers and industry.
Additionally, Labor has pledged to invest $78 million to expedite the qualifications of approximately 6,000 tradies. This commitment is part of the Advanced Entry Trades Training Program that aims to assist unqualified, yet experienced tradies receive the required qualifications to be able to perform work.
The Labor Government plans to accelerate construction within the housing industry by investing $54 million into ‘advanced manufacturing of prefabricated and modular home construction’. Further, it has promised $120 million to incentivise states to remove red tape in a bid to increase the speed of housing construction.
An eye on the future
Labor has promised significant funding to promote the renewables sector and to decrease housing pain. As with all elections, there is no telling what promises and policies will be upheld. However, there are favorable incentives for the Labor Government to maintain these promises and ensure the construction sector in Australia remains strong.
For more information, please contact Elena Stojcevski in our construction team.
