The Hon. Clare O’Neil MP, Minister for Housing, Homelessness and Cities, will address the National Press Club on “Homes for Australia: Reforming Australia’s Broken Housing System.”

In this address, Clare O’Neil will outline the Albanese Government’s $47 billion Homes for Australia plan and the next phase of housing reform in Australia. Housing has always been central to the Australian promise – that if you work hard, you can build a secure life and have a place to call home. But for too many Australians, that promise now feels out of reach.

The Albanese Government has responded with the most ambitious housing agenda since the post-war era – a plan to build more homes, help Australians buy a home, and make renting fairer. The 2026–27 Budget builds on this agenda with generational tax reform to level the playing field for first home buyers, alongside new investments to accelerate housing construction and unlock more homes across the country.

BIO:

Clare O’Neil grew up in Melbourne’s south-east and studied Law at Monash University, where she was elected to the City of Greater Dandenong Council and later became Mayor. She later studied Public Policy at Harvard University and worked in New York while living in the US.

Before entering Parliament, Clare worked as an adviser in the Office of the Commonwealth Treasurer and as a consultant across major Australian industries.

Clare was elected to Federal Parliament in 2013 as the Member for Hotham, one of Australia’s most diverse electorates in Melbourne’s south-east. She has served in a range of senior portfolios, including Home Affairs and Cyber Security, before becoming Minister for Housing and Homelessness in 2024. Following the 2025 election, she also took on the Cities portfolio.