One Nation member for New England Barnaby Joyce admitted during a media interview that he incorrectly claimed his party would force permanent residents to sell their homes. He clarified that his party's proposed housing policy applies only to non-residents.

"I made a mistake because we didn't have the policy written down, and I corrected it on the same interview, and all of a sudden people are febrile," Joyce stated. The One Nation party website states that the party must stop the sale of property to non-residents and non-citizens.

Labor government minister Tanya Plibersek addressed Joyce's statement. "They were being knocked out by investors, Barnaby. That's why we're changing the tax system," Plibersek said. Plibersek also asked, "So you just made it up? You didn't have it written down. You just made it up?"

Australian law prohibits non-residents from purchasing established residential dwellings. Abul Rizvi, former deputy secretary of the immigration department, stated, "If you turn up and bid for an existing property at auction, then the process of sale has to go through the Foreign Investment Review Board and they would say you are a temporary entrant, this is an existing dwelling, and you are banned from purchasing it." Foreign residents are permitted to purchase new or near-new dwellings, established dwellings for redevelopment, off-the-plan properties, and vacant residential land.

Australian Taxation Office data shows that foreign persons acquired 0.5% of Australian residential dwellings during 2024-25, totaling 2,672 purchases out of 540,439. In 2023-24, foreign persons acquired 0.8% of Australian residential dwellings, with 4,092 purchases out of 525,039. The data indicates that foreign persons acquired 0.9% of Australian residential dwellings in 2022-23, accounting for 4,463 purchases out of 476,136.

"It is less than one percent and a trivial number that does not rate as a blip or a meaningful impact on the market," Fotheringham said. Giridharan Sivaraman, federal race discrimination commissioner, stated, "The discussions about migration and housing were legitimate but the issue is when migrants are blamed, and certain types are singled out."