Today, Greens Spokesperson for Housing, Rebecca Vassarotti, has announced her intention to introduce a motion calling for a portable rental-bond scheme before the year’s end unless the government acts sooner and commits to the idea.
“In Canberra, over half of our community, around 250,000 people, earn $75,000 a year or less. And just this week, the 2026 Everybody’s Home ‘Priced Out’ report found that locals earning $70,000 a year are paying over half their income or more in rent alone.
“This level of unaffordability isn’t an accident. It has been manufactured. And the failure to act at a territory level is a key part of the assembly line. It is the result of a way of thinking that prioritises the interests of homeowners over struggling everyday renters.
“In a market this unaffordable, moving house shouldn’t require emptying your savings just to secure a roof over your head. That’s why we need to dismantle the upfront cost of transferring bonds so that finding a secure, affordable home is as easy as possible.
“Because right now, every time someone renting moves, the system forces you to fork out for two full bonds , paying for the new place while waiting to get money back from the old one. And the reality is for many; this is cost prohibitive.
“It’s a system that forces everyday working people onto credit cards and payday loans in a time where money is already tight. This kind of precarity is not a normal way to expect people to live, it is a political design that at the moment, we are expected to accept.
“The explosion of online bond loan schemes is just one symptom of this disease; a disease of apathy where government has abandoned its duty to protect people, leaving them at the mercy of the private market and middling community sector stop-gaps.
“That we don’t already have a solution in place for this problem is a symptom of the bureaucratic malaise that has taken over our politics. Excuses and vain attempts to reduce regulation have resulted in governance systems that work for profit, not people.
“A portable bond scheme is a simple, non-partisan, and impactful idea. It has already been adopted by the Minns Labor Government in New South Wales and implemented by the Allan Labor Government in Victoria and now it’s time for the Barr Government.
“I am calling on the government to adopt this straightforward reform to improve the lives of thousands of renters across Canberra. And pending any public commitments from the government, I commit to bringing it to debate in the Assembly next sitting.
