The Morrison government is aiming to assist more than 4600 Australians to buy their first home under its home guarantee scheme.

But Labor was quick to point this is just a “re-gifting” of a previous announcement.

The scheme helps first home buyers and single-parent families get into their own home sooner with a deposit of as little as five per cent or two per cent respectively.

Under the scheme, the government will reissue up to 4651 unused guarantees for first home buyers from the 2020/21 financial year who haven’t had an opportunity to purchase their first home, for reasons including COVID disruptions.

“We want more first home buyers to get into the place of their dreams,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.

“The pandemic and lockdowns have interrupted the plans of many home buyers this year, so this is about ensuring we give thousands more families the opportunity they need.”

Housing Minister Michael Sukkar said coupled with HomeBuilder and the first home super saver scheme, more than 300,000 Australians had been helped into home ownership.

This includes almost 60,000 Australians through the home guarantee scheme.

“The Morrison government will continue to provide Australians who have that aspiration to go and buy a home, the opportunity to go and achieve that,” Mr Sukkar said.

But Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese said the prime minister is just “re-gifting” support for the housing market.

“Once again he is pretending that there is something new. This is a prime minister who is all announcements, no delivery,” he told reporters in Sydney.

However, the nation’s banks, who help operate the scheme, were quick to support the announcement.

National Australia Bank group executive personal banking Rachel Slade said the scheme has helped thousands of Australians purchase a home earlier than they thought possible.

“This year’s price rises have made it more challenging for many Australians to enter the housing market, which is why support measures such as these are so important,” she said.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s executive general manager of home banking Michael Baumann agreed that supporting customers with innovative lending solutions will help them get onto the property ladder.

Property Council of Australia chief executive Ken Morrison said the initiative will help stimulate new housing, which will lay the foundations for a strong economic recovery off the back of a two-year pandemic.

– AAP