The revelation that Anthony Albanese had purchased a $4.3 million slice of “clifftop perfection” on the NSW Central Coast set tongues wagging.
Not only because the listing made it sound like something out of Grand Designs, replete with “mesmerising ocean views” and “timber-lined cathedral ceilings” — perfect fodder for the national pastime of property stickybeaking.
But also because he is the prime minister and will soon face voters in an election in which housing affordability woes are sure to feature.
The nature of the political spotlight often generates an unusual amount of attention around the property holdings of politicians.
We also know an unusual amount about them. Elected representatives must declare any real estate they or their partners own, as well as any shares, trusts, debts, memberships and gifts.
This register of interests reveals the PM is far from a stand-out among his colleagues, and that property ownership is a side hustle that crosses party boundaries.
The ABC combed through the register to compile a comprehensive picture. Here it is.
The non-home owners
Of the 227 sitting MPs and senators, only 12 declared no property ownership.
This group includes Greens housing spokesperson Max Chandler-Mather, who often uses his status as one of parliament’s few renters to draw a contrast with others in the parliament.
His Greens colleague Stephen Bates, the parliament’s youngest MP, joins him in rare company, as does Labor’s Josh Burns, who recently sold a house he had co-owned with a partner.
Several senators are on the list, although we cannot be sure this provides an exhaustive picture because the property holdings of senators’ spouses are not published.
And in any case, we can’t be sure how many of the 11 are renters — only that they don’t own properties in their own names.
Some in this group declared a financial interest in trusts but were not required to disclose any property held in those trusts.
And the United Australia Party’s Ralph Babet has not declared any properties owned in his own name but owns a share of a real estate company called Babet Brothers.
He appears with his brother, Matt, in advertising materials for Babet Brothers that state the pair “live and breathe real estate” as an “obsession”, and that they have acquired “multiple investment properties of their own”.
Queensland MP Bob Katter declared part ownership of a rental property but added a handwritten note stating the property had been sold.
Mr Katter noted his wife “has at times bought and sold some investment properties” but that “she regards this as her private business”.
He also declared his ownership of 100 heifers in Cape York and a mining investment — “nothing definite at this stage but I intend to take up old mining tenements discovered by myself prior to going into Parliament,” he clarified.
The single home owners
Just under one in three federal politicians (67) declared ownership of a single property, which was usually identified as their primary residence.
The group includes 27 Coalition MPs, 26 Labor MPs, six Greens and eight others.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is the most prominent member of this group. He owns a farm and residence in Dayboro, outside Brisbane. In late 2022, he sold a Brisbane apartment co-owned with his wife for $3.47 million, having purchased it for $2.7 million one year earlier.
Housing Minister Clare O’Neil also sold an investment property — in late 2023 when she was home affairs minister — and owns only her family home.
Also on the list are Greens leader Adam Bandt, former Labor leader Bill Shorten, Senator Jacqui Lambie and the Coalition’s assistant housing spokesperson, Andrew Bragg.
The dual home owners
Another one in three federal politicians (71) own two properties.
The reasons vary. Some list their second property as a holiday home and others as an investment.
But the most common reason for owning a second property is maintaining a Canberra residence. Politicians spend several months a year in Canberra for parliamentary sittings, committee hearings and other business.
Perhaps reflecting their enthusiasm for capital, the vast majority of these “Canberra pads” were in the suburbs of Barton, Kingston and Griffith, in the immediate vicinity of Parliament House.
The two-home group includes Anthony Albanese, who will likely remain at two even once his new purchase has been registered, since he has also listed his Sydney investment property for sale.
It also includes Labor frontbenchers Jim Chalmers, Katy Gallagher and Don Farrell, whose South Australian residence doubles as a vineyard.
Other prominent names include Barnaby Joyce, Pauline Hanson and Fatima Payman, who purchased an investment property two months ago.
The portfolio owners
The group of federal politicians who own three or more properties is the largest (77).
Not everyone in this group owns investment properties — Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Senator David Pocock own additional properties lived in by family members.
But a handful have very large property holdings.
Michelle Ananda-Rajah of Labor and Liberal Karen Andrews top the list with seven each, although three of Ms Ananda-Rajah’s are owned by her partner.
Labor’s Tony Burke, Louise Miller-Frost and Brendan O’Connor each own six (three of Mr O’Connor’s are owned by his partner).
Deborah O’Neill, Gerard Rennick, Gavin Pearce, Andrew Willcox and Tony Zappia own five, and Greens MPs Mehreen Faruqi and Nick McKim are among those who own four.
One of Senator Faruqi’s holdings is a parcel of land in Pakistan, making her one of six politicians who own property overseas — including Tanya Plibersek, who has an investment property in Slovenia and Paul Fletcher, whose spouse owns property in Italy.
Not all properties are equal, of course. While politicians are not required to declare the value of their investments, Labor MP Andrew Charlton would be tough to beat for the most valuable. His Bellevue Hill property, declared as a “rental investment”, was bought at auction for $16.1 million in 2020.
How does this compare to the typical Australian?
Roughly two in three Australians own their own home.
In 2021-22, the last year for which data from the Australian Tax Office is available, 1.6 million Australians owned a single investment property, although this group included some people who owned just one property and lived in a rental.
A very small fraction of property investors own large portfolios — fewer than 20,000 own a stake in six or more rental investments.
| Number of investment properties | Number of Australians (2021-22 ATO) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1,620,663 |
| 2 | 428,020 |
| 3 | 132,338 |
| 4 | 47,633 |
| 5 | 19,530 |
| 6+ | 19,977 |
Politicians earn above-average salaries. The base salary for an MP or senator is $233,660, with additional loadings for those with additional responsibilities (eg ministers).
That income alone would put their household in the top 10 per cent of Australian households, before accounting for any spousal income.
How the ABC reported this story
Federal MPs and senators submit their financial details to parliamentary committees. They are updated regularly and published.
The information is not uniform. For instance, lower house MPs are asked about properties owned by their spouses, but this information is not published for senators.
And the details are often vague. For privacy reasons, precise locations are never included, but sometimes even the suburb or region is left off.
The language used to describe property is highly varied — from “residential” and “investment” to “holiday home” and “shack”.
Every endeavour was made to ensure the accuracy of the count. When there was doubt about how to read the register, we either contacted the politicians or erred on the side of excluding a property.
Any time a politician and their spouse listed ownership of a property in the same suburb, we assumed this was the same property and was co-owned.
When politicians declared properties owned by their spouses, we included these in the count — in several cases, this appeared to be the couple’s main residence.