Ahead of the Federal Budget, WEL has sent letters to the Prime Minister, the Treasurer and Minister Gallagher, regarding the gendered nature of Capital Gains Tax discount and Negative Gearing. 

WEL's letter to the Prime Minister

The Hon. Anthony Albanese MP

Prime Minister

Dear Prime Minister,

Women’s Electoral Lobby (WEL) is a national, feminist, independent, non-profit, non-party political advocacy group, established in 1972. For over 50 years, WEL has championed gender equality by influencing public policy, holding governments accountable and amplifying women’s voices in Australia. WEL promotes its vision through political education and lobbying to pressure government to change laws or policies, collaborating with other organisations and individuals in our campaigns.

WEL notes the key findings of the Report of the Select Committee on the Operation of the Capital Gains Tax Discount. We are writing in the leadup to the Federal Budget to highlight the gendered impact of the capital gains tax discount and negative gearing for landlords.

This gendered impact has been documented in the submissions made to the Select Committee by the Working with Women Alliance and the National Foundation of Australian Women. As the key findings of the Report highlight, these tax breaks overwhelmingly benefit wealthy investors. They also contribute to driving housing unaffordability and reduce available government funds for social and public housing and other services upon which women rely (see ACOSS-Briefing-Note-The-unfair-distribution-of-the-CGT-discount-by-electorate-March-2026-2.pdf).

As you would be aware, homelessness among women jumped by over 10% at the last Census in 2021, with the most dramatic increases being in the number of women aged 34-44 years and young women aged 12 to 18 years. The housing crisis has deepened since that time, exacerbating housing pressures for women in all tenures.

Finding Three of the Select Committee’s Report explains that: while there are a number of factors that influence housing markets, there is evidence that the concessions provided by the capital gains tax, in combination with negative gearing, have skewed the ownership of housing away from owner-occupiers and towards investors.

WEL urges the Government to end these tax breaks whose benefits are unequally distributed with implications for housing affordability and women’s economic security.

Yours sincerely

Kay Anastassiadis

Convenor, National Coordinating Committee
Women’s Electoral Lobby