Home Property Australia Federal govt announces $2bn in social housing

Federal govt announces $2bn in social housing

  • June 21, 2023
  • by Property Australia
Housing Minister Julie Collins

The Australian Government announced a new $2 billion Social Housing Accelerator to deliver thousands of new social homes across Australia over the weekend, before its Housing Australia Future fund was stalled in the Senate on Monday.

The Social Housing Accelerator payment will be delivered to state and territory governments within the next two weeks, with all funding to be committed by states and territories within two years ending 30 June 2025.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Saturday the fund will deliver thousands of new social rental homes across the country.

“I met with every Premier and Chief Minister about this proposal yesterday, and we all agree securing more housing for more Australians is a key national priority.

“This is new money, right now, for thousands of new homes and complements our ambitious housing agenda.”

Housing Minister Julie Collins said the funding will help build more rental homes that Australia needs.

New South Wales is set to receive the largest portion of $610 million, followed by Victoria with $496 million, Queensland with $398 million, and Western Australia with $209 million. South Australia will benefit from $135 million of the funding, while Tasmania, the Northern Territory, and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) will each receive a minimum allocation of $50 million.

Property Council Chief Executive Mike Zorbas said the investment is a welcome addition to the 30,000-home promise of the Housing Australia Future Fund.

“The NSW Productivity Commission recently reported we could chop national house prices by 25 per cent with a 10 per cent increase in the supply of new homes and apartments,” he said.

“We need better planning systems for our cities and the roll out of annual state housing targets for social, affordable and at-market housing through the national housing accord.

“First ministers and state planning ministers need to get their skates on, and state Treasurers need to stop putting additional taxes on investment in new housing,” he said.

This week, the government’s $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund was delayed in the Senate, after the Coalition and the Greens voted to delay debate on the fund until October.

The Greens are pushing for a postponement of the vote on the legislation until after the upcoming national cabinet meeting in the middle of the year to “allow time for national cabinet to progress reforms to strengthen renters’ rights”.

The HAFF plans to allocate $10 billion to the Future Fund, and the generated profits will be utilised for constructing social and affordable housing.

At least $500 million per year will be dedicated to this initiative, with the goal of constructing 30,000 rental homes for social and affordable purposes over a five-year period.

This includes 4,000 properties specifically intended for women and children experiencing family and domestic violence, as well as older women at risk of homelessness.