Treasury denies Super Saver Scheme equates to early access

Senior Treasury officials have sought to play down suggestions that the Government’s First Home Super Saver Scheme can be linked in any way to early access to superannuation.

Treasury deputy secretary, Michael Brennan has told a Senate Estimates Committee hearing that commentators who had suggested any element of early access to superannuation were misconstruing the arrangement.

Responding to questions from NSW Greens Senator, Lee Rhiannon, Brennan made clear that the housing saving account was “a mechanism that allows first home buyers to save with the benefit of a tax effective vehicle”.

“But it is not a mechanism that allows them to reach into compulsory superannuation contributions,” he said. “So it is not really an access-to-superannuation sort of mechanism.”

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Brennan also played down suggestions that the package would fuel both demand and house prices.

He said that the overall intent of the housing affordability package was to place downward pressure on prices.

Asked how many people Treasury estimated would actually utilise the scheme, Brennan said that based on the experience of similar previous exercises, he believed it would be accessed by around one in six first home buyers.