Barnaby Joyce claims people who ‘look like’ recent arrivals dominate auctions. Who is he talking about?
Barnaby Joyce blamed recent arrivals for housing pressure, but official data shows foreign buyers make up less than 1% of purchases.
Intelligence analysis by GPT-5.4 Mini
The story examines Joyce’s claim that people who appear newly arrived are beating Australian buyers at auctions, then tests it against tax office data and housing experts. The evidence points in a different direction: the problem is not foreign buyers in general, but broader housing pressures and investors.
Barnaby Joyce says some new arrivals are making home auctions harder for Australians. But the numbers say foreign buyers are just a tiny slice of the market, like blaming one pebble for a whole pile of rocks.
Analysis
What Joyce claimed
Barnaby Joyce said people born in Australia are tired of going to auctions and being beaten by people who “look like they’ve recently arrived.” He used the point to argue for a more sustainable immigration policy. Tanya Plibersek pushed back on the panel, saying the issue was investors rather than migrants.
What the data shows
The article says Australian Taxation Office figures do not support Joyce’s claim. In 2024-25, foreign persons bought 2,672 residential dwellings out of 540,439 acquisitions, or 0.5%. The previous two years were also below 1%: 0.8% in 2023-24 and 0.9% in 2022-23. The piece also notes that foreigners bought additional vacant land in those years, but the main residential market remains overwhelmingly domestic.
What the rules already do
Australia bars foreigners from buying most established dwellings, while allowing some categories such as new or near-new homes, redevelopment properties, off-the-plan properties, and vacant land. Those new and off-the-plan homes are generally not sold at auction. The tax office also requires foreign people to apply for approval before buying residential property.
Why the claim is disputed
The federal race discrimination commissioner warned against blaming migrants or singling out certain groups in the housing debate. Michael Fotheringham of the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute said the numbers are “fleetingly small” and not a meaningful factor in the market. Former immigration official Abul Rizvi added that judging the market by what is seen at an auction can be misleading.
The story also notes that Joyce had recently had to correct himself on the details of One Nation’s foreign ownership policy, adding to scrutiny of the party’s position.
Key points
- Barnaby Joyce said people who look like recent arrivals are winning home auctions from Australian-born buyers.
- Official tax office data shows foreign persons bought fewer than 1% of Australian dwellings in recent years.
- Housing experts said the numbers are too small to meaningfully affect the market.
- Australia already restricts most foreign purchases of established homes.
- The race discrimination commissioner warned against demonising migrants in the housing debate.
If the debate stays focused on the evidence, policymakers may put more attention on the parts of the housing market that matter most, such as investors and supply. The foreign-buying ban could also keep helping Australians compete for homes that would otherwise be purchased by non-residents.
If the claim takes hold, migrants may be unfairly blamed for housing problems they are not driving. That could distract from the larger causes of affordability pressures and harden the debate around immigration instead of housing supply.
