Deputy Greens leader and senator Mehreen Faruqi has been approved to subdivide her property and build three investment townhouses in Port Macquarie, it was reported earlier this month.
The subdivision, if it goes ahead, would mean her four properties would become six, with the senator owning two properties in Sydney and a parcel of land in Lahore, Pakistan.
News of the plans, reported in the Adelaide Advertiser, once again cast the property portfolios of politicians into the spotlight - and saw her cop some online criticism for having investment properties while the Greens have been proposing a new housing policy.
But the Greens senator is hardly the only politician with multiple properties to their name.
Here's how politicians compare with the average Australian, how their investing stacks up to other professions in a similar pay bracket, and how their property portfolios could shape policy.
How many properties do politicians own?
At the start of each new parliament, politicians must disclose a range of interests that could result in a conflict on a parliamentary register. This includes property and shareholdings.
Based on those disclosures, here’s what we know.
Federal politicians on average own about two properties per person.
About 86 per cent of federal politicians own at least one residential property, higher than the 67 per cent of Australians who own property, as per 2021 Census data.
Many MPs also own a second property in Canberra, a holiday home or an investment. On average, there are about 20 sitting weeks in Parliament each year.
The number of federal politicians who own multiple properties, as per disclosure register. Credit: SBS The Feed
Comparing 2006 data (where there was 70 per cent property ownership across Australia) to the most recent figures, fewer Australians are owning a home. This is especially true for young people, with 50 per cent of 30 to 34-year-olds owning property.
In 2017, during the Turnbull government, there was an average of 2.3 properties per MP and an average of 1 investment per person.
Which politicians own the most properties?
Among the biggest property owners in parliament is Opposition home affairs spokesperson Karen Andrews who, with husband Chris, jointly owns six investment properties as well as her Gold Coast residence.
Leader of the House and Employment Minister Tony Burke has two residential properties listed - one in the Sydney suburb of Punchbowl and one in Canberra, and four investment properties.
Nationals MP Andrew Wilcox, who owns a residential property in Queensland, also owns five investment properties in the state.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese owns three properties; one residential in Canberra, another residential in Marrickville and an investment in Dulwich Hill.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton is listed as owning two Queensland properties, one residential/farm in rural Dayboro and a residential investment in Brisbane. He is listed as joint-owning another Brisbane investment property with his wife, Kirrily.
Are politicians investing more than others?
It depends on how you look at it.
When compared with wider Australia, the percentage of politicians with at least one investment property (44 per cent) is higher than the 15 per cent of Australians who own an investment dwelling.
About 44 per cent of federal politicians own at least one investment property, 20 per cent own at least two investment properties and about 8 per cent own at least three investment properties.
The MP base salary of $217,060 - which this year got a slight bump up from previous years - is well above the average Australian salary of about $71,600. MPs with additional duties, including ministers in cabinet and ministers with portfolios receive a higher salary, earning approximately $374,400 and $341,900 respectively. Opposition spokespeople get approximately $271,300 each year.
When compared to the same salary bracket, politicians are investing at similar rates.
According to the ATO, MPs rank 30th on the list of professions most likely to be property investors, with medical specialists making up the top ten professions on that list.
The top and bottom ten investors in the property market by profession.
Are their property portfolios likely to shape policy?
Leo Patterson Ross, the CEO of the Tenants Union of NSW, said though politicians as a group tend to be wealthier people and there is a "preponderance of lawyers" - "property ownership doesn't necessarily dictate in a really reliable way how people will vote on a particular issue."
"It split on party lines, not on ownership," he said.
Federal politicians who own multiple properties by party. Credit: SBS The Feed
"There's no nationally funded peak (body) for renters... so it means that renter views or the way that issues might affect renters often isn't fully aired."
He said though some parliamentarians or their staffers rent in Canberra, their experience can be "insulated" as they are on higher incomes, particularly politicians.
"It does tend to be a relatively small group of people who lead government policy thinking and they tend not to be renters or rental organisations in relation to housing."
Dr Cameron Murray, who is an economist specialising in urban development, said among the approximately 5,500 elected officials across councils, states and federal government, he's found they own about 10,000 dwellings between them.
"That's a pretty huge incentive not to crush the value of their biggest assets through policy," he said.
"My expectation is that even though there's a current Senate inquiry into rising rents, there'll be very, very little action on that front - just purely because of political incentives."
What are the tax benefits of investing in property?
Apart from the rental income you earn if a property is tenanted, if your property increases in value (capital gain) and you've owned that property for over a year, you'll get a discounted tax rate when you sell that property. This will reduce the amount of tax you'll pay, compared to a gain made from another income.
Luke Mansillo, an associate lecturer in political science from the University of Sydney, told the Feed there were a number of incentives during the Howard era which encouraged people to "plough" their wages into an investment property.
"People aren't fundamentally evil for availing themselves of tax incentives, they're the rules of the game that exist," he said.
"It's just that because they're the rules of the game, we end up in a self-defeating situation."
People aren't fundamentally evil for availing themselves of tax incentives, they're the rules of the game that exist.Luke Mansillo, political scientist at The Univerisity of Sydney
Mansillo says the state governments have been left to find ways to maximise their revenue to pay for essential government services - and one of the easiest ways is through housing, like stamp duty.
"We're focusing if you will, a little bit on playing the man as opposed to playing the issue," Mansillo said.
"We either need to cut the crap and fix the structural problem and actually give money to the state governments who are desperately poor unless they ramp up all the housing prices or the Commonwealth would need to materially intervene in some form to avail more opportunities (for housing)."
The Feed contacted Mehreen Faruqi for comment.
