Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Is learning English now completely optional to buy a house in Australia? Recent reports show the government is actively marketing its 5% Deposit Scheme in foreign languages, sending a clear message about what they value. Breakdown of the failure here:
When people travel to France, they understand that French is the main spoken language. Similarly, when people travel to Japan, they understand that Japanese is the de facto national language. And naturally, when people travel to—or move to—Australia, they understand that English is the primary language used in government, education, and daily life. To say otherwise is simply not living in reality.
But strangely, our government seems a bit confused about what our main language is. (And a quick thank you to the viewers who sent in these examples.)
Take for instance this recent news: “Albanese government slammed over ads in Mandarin, Arabic for 5pc deposit scheme.” But don’t worry. The Labor government says the ads were just following “standard guidelines”.
Yes, because nothing says “standard guidelines for an English-speaking country” quite like explaining complex mortgage guarantees in classical Arabic. I’m sure the local bank managers are brushing up on their Chinese characters as we speak, just to keep things “standard”.
Just to be clear, I have a lot of interactions with the local Chinese community, and none of them expect government communications to be in Chinese. They all learn English, and they know that is what is expected. I also know some Arabic speakers from university, and they all speak English too.
So what is the Australian government smoking here? The only possible upside of putting these ads in various languages is to teach immigrants that it is okay not to learn English, and I don’t think that benefits anyone.
Here’s the government’s 5% Deposit Scheme website, featuring, of course, an Asian lady buying her first house. Just to be clear on who exactly can use this scheme, let’s click on Check Eligibility. Naturally, we are greeted by a couple of men buying their first home together—because as we all know, standard departmental websites are the perfect place for a bit of state-sponsored virtue signalling.
Under the “Are you eligible” section, it states that applicants must be an Australian citizen or a permanent resident, and at least 18 years old. Note that according to the news article, the Labor government expanded the scheme to include permanent residents in 2023, with around 51,000 non-citizens taking up the offer.
Whether you agree with handing out taxpayer-backed property guarantees to non-citizens or not, the government—with its targeted ads in foreign languages and its eagerness to open the scheme up to permanent residents—effectively signals that integrating into an English-speaking society is entirely optional.
Not to mention that the 5% Deposit Scheme has done pretty much nothing to help anybody, and has instead just pumped up prices even higher in the lower bracket. The Guardian reported in December: “Australia’s 5% home deposit scheme makes it harder for low-income earners to buy,” while the ABC confirmed in April: “First home buyer scheme found to be fuelling price increases at lower end of market.”
So basically, despite the government’s efforts to make housing more affordable, housing has become a real nightmare. Just last week, the ABC declared: “Australians face record-high rents as agents see ‘enquiries flooding in’.”
Now, they don’t explicitly use the word “immigration”, but they do point out that “population growth”—which is just code for immigration—is a major factor fuelling these rent increases.
As you can clearly see, if there is one thing this government is truly brilliant at, it’s intervening in a market to solve a problem, only to make it catastrophically worse.
But hey, at least they’re being honest about their priorities. If English-speakers are being priced out of buying a home entirely, at least the government is translating the ads to make sure someone else keeps those property prices pumping.
MUSIC
Allégro by Emmit Fenn
Is learning English now completely optional to buy a house in Australia? Recent reports show the government is actively marketing its 5% Deposit Scheme in foreign languages, sending a clear message about what they value. Breakdown of the failure here:
When people travel to France, they understand that French is the main spoken language. Similarly, when people travel to Japan, they understand that Japanese is the de facto national language. And naturally, when people travel to—or move to—Australia, they understand that English is the primary language used in government, education, and daily life. To say otherwise is simply not living in reality.
But strangely, our government seems a bit confused about what our main language is. (And a quick thank you to the viewers who sent in these examples.)
Take for instance this recent news: “Albanese government slammed over ads in Mandarin, Arabic for 5pc deposit scheme.” But don’t worry. The Labor government says the ads were just following “standard guidelines”.
Yes, because nothing says “standard guidelines for an English-speaking country” quite like explaining complex mortgage guarantees in classical Arabic. I’m sure the local bank managers are brushing up on their Chinese characters as we speak, just to keep things “standard”.
Just to be clear, I have a lot of interactions with the local Chinese community, and none of them expect government communications to be in Chinese. They all learn English, and they know that is what is expected. I also know some Arabic speakers from university, and they all speak English too.
So what is the Australian government smoking here? The only possible upside of putting these ads in various languages is to teach immigrants that it is okay not to learn English, and I don’t think that benefits anyone.
Here’s the government’s 5% Deposit Scheme website, featuring, of course, an Asian lady buying her first house. Just to be clear on who exactly can use this scheme, let’s click on Check Eligibility. Naturally, we are greeted by a couple of men buying their first home together—because as we all know, standard departmental websites are the perfect place for a bit of state-sponsored virtue signalling.
Under the “Are you eligible” section, it states that applicants must be an Australian citizen or a permanent resident, and at least 18 years old. Note that according to the news article, the Labor government expanded the scheme to include permanent residents in 2023, with around 51,000 non-citizens taking up the offer.
Whether you agree with handing out taxpayer-backed property guarantees to non-citizens or not, the government—with its targeted ads in foreign languages and its eagerness to open the scheme up to permanent residents—effectively signals that integrating into an English-speaking society is entirely optional.
Not to mention that the 5% Deposit Scheme has done pretty much nothing to help anybody, and has instead just pumped up prices even higher in the lower bracket. The Guardian reported in December: “Australia’s 5% home deposit scheme makes it harder for low-income earners to buy,” while the ABC confirmed in April: “First home buyer scheme found to be fuelling price increases at lower end of market.”
So basically, despite the government’s efforts to make housing more affordable, housing has become a real nightmare. Just last week, the ABC declared: “Australians face record-high rents as agents see ‘enquiries flooding in’.”
Now, they don’t explicitly use the word “immigration”, but they do point out that “population growth”—which is just code for immigration—is a major factor fuelling these rent increases.
As you can clearly see, if there is one thing this government is truly brilliant at, it’s intervening in a market to solve a problem, only to make it catastrophically worse.
But hey, at least they’re being honest about their priorities. If English-speakers are being priced out of buying a home entirely, at least the government is translating the ads to make sure someone else keeps those property prices pumping.
MUSIC
Allégro by Emmit Fenn
