In November 2025, without any public announcement or community consultation, Frankston City Council voted to repurpose $160,000, sourced from residents' rates, and turn it into a $1,000 cash payment for new home buyers in Frankston. Here is what the council decided in a single meeting (Item 23/24 of the minutes of Frankston Council Meeting, 27 October 2025):

·         Anyone who has never owned a home in Australia and who buys a house, unit, or block of land in the Frankston municipality between January 2026 and June 2028 can apply for $1,000.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS?

·         There is no check on whether the buyer already owns property overseas. An overseas investor, developer, immigration applicant, or Australian, who has never bought in Australia, but already owns property overseas, can therefore qualify for the payment.

·         It won’t help affordability. Every past housing grant in Australia has simply been added to the sale price by sellers and developers. This $1,000 will be no different—it will not make housing more affordable for local first-home buyers; it will just push prices up a little more and benefit developers.

We, the undersigned, call on Frankston City Council to:

1.    Immediately suspend this $1,000 buyer subsidy until full public consultation has taken place.

2.    Add a clear rule that anyone who already owns property overseas cannot claim the payment.

Frankston’s budget should help Frankston people first—not be used to quietly inflate the property market and attract more overseas buyers. Sign now and demand transparency and fairness.