Labor announces $2bn social housing investment

Entitled the Social Housing Accelerator, the payment will be delivered to state and territory governments within the next fortnight, which will create thousands of homes for Australians on social housing waiting lists and increase housing supply sooner, according to the Albanese government.

The Social Housing Accelerator continues the work of the new National Housing Accord, which aims to build 1 million new homes over five years from 2024.

The Albanese government’s investment in housing and homelessness now totals more than $9.5 billion with the addition of this $2 billion funding.

Across the states, NSW is set to gain $610 million towards immediately boosting social housing stock. Victoria is to gain $496 million, Queensland is to gain $398 million, Western Australia is to gain $209 million, and South Australia will gain $135 million.

Furthermore, the Albanese government will deliver $50 million each to Tasmania, Northern Territory, and ACT.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: “Every Australian deserves the security of a roof over their head, and my government is taking steps to deliver more homes around 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, stated the government is aware that supply is an important part of addressing the housing challenges inherited from the former Liberal government.

Master Builders chief executive Denita Wawn welcomed the Labor government’s announcement, deeming it a “crucial step towards addressing the persistent issue of housing affordability in the country”.

“The federal government’s dedication to collaborative efforts with industry stakeholders, as well as state and territory governments, to tackle the housing supply predicament is commendable,” Ms Wawn stated.

“Australians are struggling with housing affordability and this has persisted for decades due to a lack of supply keeping up with demand.”

Ms Collins further stated more could be done if the Senate ceased blocking Labor’s proposed $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund.

As such, national housing, homelessness, and industry peaks have called for Future Fund Bill along with the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council Bill 2023 and the Treasury Laws Amendment (Housing Measures No. 1) Bill 2023 package to be passed.

“Time is now of the essence. The Parliament rises for the winter break this Thursday and will not resume until August,” the peaks stated.

“Australia cannot afford to delay its response to the housing crisis any longer.”

The concerns around the package largely centred around the fact that the package could be strengthened and/or improved to address the scale of housing inaffordability.

Notably, the Greens suggested that the expected returns of up to $500 million per year don’t go far enough.

In addition, there were questions surrounding the bill’s inclusion of a ‘broad discretionary power to make an arrangement for granting financial assistance, including to the states and territories’ as well as questions over how the funding model would function and what kind of entities would receive funding.

[RELATED: Labor makes final push for Housing Australia Future Fund]