I am an ordinary Australian.

I work hard, pay my taxes, carry a mortgage, and put aside what I can each month to invest in shares, ETFs, managed funds and cryptocurrency for my family’s future.

I am not wealthy, and I am not trying to exploit the system. I am simply trying to build long-term financial security beyond wages alone through disciplined, regular investing.

But this is not just about me. Many working Australians are in the same position. We cannot all afford investment property. For many of us, investing small amounts into shares, ETFs, managed funds or cryptocurrency is one of the few realistic ways to build wealth outside wages, superannuation and the family home.

The 2026 Federal Budget makes that harder.

The proposed CGT changes are being presented as housing reform, but they also affect ordinary non-property investors. Removing the 50% CGT discount and introducing a 30% minimum tax on capital gains risks punishing Australians who are simply trying to save, invest and get ahead.

We are asking the government to:

1. Retain the 50% CGT discount for shares, ETFs, managed funds and cryptocurrency.
2. Remove the mandatory 30% minimum tax on investment gains.
3. Ensure CGT on investment gains does not exceed the investor’s marginal tax rate.

This matters because buying shares, ETFs or cryptocurrency does not directly reduce housing supply or push first-home buyers out of the property market. These are different asset classes, and they should not be punished under a policy being sold as housing reform.

When Australians invest in shares, ETFs and managed funds, they provide capital to businesses that employ people, grow and contribute to the economy. A nurse, teacher, tradie or small business worker putting $200 a month into an ETF is doing something responsible and productive. That behaviour should be encouraged, not penalised.

Cryptocurrency is already a high-risk investment. Investors can lose heavily, and there is no government safety net when they do. If Australians are expected to carry the full downside risk, the tax treatment on the upside should also be fair.

A mandatory 30% minimum tax is especially unfair for lower and middle-income Australians. Someone on an ordinary wage may pay a lower average tax rate on their work income, yet face a 30% minimum tax on investment gains. That sends the wrong message: work hard, save carefully, take risk responsibly, and if you succeed, the government takes more.

When Treasurer Jim Chalmers was asked on ABC Insiders why the CGT changes also affect shares, he said shares had been “undercompensated” relative to property since 1999. If shares were already treated less favourably, the answer should be to make productive non-property investment more attractive, not less.

Australia should encourage ordinary people to save, invest and build financial security. The government should not keep changing the rules on people who planned their futures around the system that existed,  especially after promising before the election that these rules would not change.

We are not asking for special treatment. We are only asking for fair treatment. 

Please support this petition and ask the government to protect ordinary Australian investors.