Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has defended his purchase of a multimillion-dollar clifftop home, saying he knows “what it’s like to struggle”.

Albanese and fiancee Jodie Haydon have paid $4.3 million on the generous home on NSW’s Central Coast.

It has four bedrooms and three bathrooms, and is said to have “one of the most commanding positions” on the cliff top at Copacabana. There are unobstructed ocean views as far as the Sydney skyline, which is about 50 kilometres away.

Contracts were reportedly exchanged on the property in September. Settlement is due by the end of this month.

The house is on a clifftop at the popular Copacabana beach on the NSW Central Coast. Photo: Supplied

Albanese was grilled about the purchase while in Queensland on Monday to spruik his government’s housing programs.

He said Haydon was a “coastie” – with family and friends in the Copacabana area – and that “when your relationship changes, your life changes, and you make decisions”.

“I have, of course. I am much better off – as a Prime Minister, I earn a good income,” he said.

“I understand that. I understand that I’ve been fortunate.

“But I also know what it’s like to struggle. My mum lived in the public housing that she was born in for all of her 65 years. And I know what it’s like, which is why I want to help all Australians into a home, whether it be public homes, or private rentals, or home ownership.”

In Sydney on Tuesday, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said the purchase showed Albanese and Haydon “were obviously planning for the next stage of life, post-politics, and I wish them well”.

Albanese, however, also denied the purchase meant he was getting ready for a career beyond Canberra.

He planned to stay “in my current job for a very long period of time”, he said.

Earlier, an Albanese spokesman said the house purchase would be declared on the parliamentary register once it was final.

The new purchase has four bedrooms and three bathrooms. Photo: Supplied

Albanese and Haydon got engaged on Valentine’s Day this year.

He was previously married to former NSW deputy premier Carmel Tebbutt. They split in January 2019, and have an adult son, Nathan.

It will be a first marriage for Haydon.

She lives at The Lodge in Canberra with Albanese and works for the NSW Public Service Association.

Last month, Albanese told ABC radio in Perth that he and Haydon had pushed back their wedding date to focus on next year’s federal election. It is due by May.

“It will be after the election because I want to focus on the job at hand,” he said.

“We looked at the diary and there are no gaps between now and the end of the year.”

If Albanese wins the election and is still Prime Minister on his wedding day, he will be the first Australian PM to marry while in office.