Housing Affordability
What We're Doing
The Albanese Government understands that many Australians are facing serious housing challenges. We know that safe and affordable housing is central to the security and dignity of all Australians.
After almost ten years of inaction on housing, we’re bringing together all levels of government for an ambitious housing agenda.
Housing Australia Future Fund
The Albanese Government’s landmark legislation to create the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) was passed through both Houses of Parliament on 28 September 2023. This legislation is set to deliver the single biggest investment in social and affordable housing in more than a decade. It will help deliver 30,000 new social and affordable rental homes in the fund’s first five years, providing a secure funding source for new homes. This will provide housing support to remote Indigenous communities, women and children experiencing domestic and family violence, older women at risk of homelessness, and veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
“The real collateral is 122,000 homeless Australians, the women and kids fleeing domestic violence, our veterans, our First Peoples, and the key workers that our businesses and our health system desperately need.” - Dr Michelle Ananda-Rajah MP, speech to Parliament June 21st, 2023
The HAFF seeks to deliver on a key election promise, which includes:
- 30,000 social and affordable housing properties, with 4,000 of these allocated for women and children fleeing domestic and family violence, and older women on low incomes who are at risk of homelessness.
- 10,000 homes for key workers like police, nurses and paramedics.
- $100 million for crisis and transitional housing for women and children fleeing domestic and family violence and older women on low incomes who are at risk of homelessness.
- $30 million to build more housing and fund specialist services for veterans who are experiencing homelessness or at-risk homelessness.
- $200 million for maintenance and improvements of housing in remote Indigenous communities.
National Housing Supply and Affordability Council
Our legislation to establish a National Housing Supply and Affordability Council is currently before the House of Representatives . The legislation aims to establish the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council as an independent advisory body to the Federal Government to support it in improving housing supply and affordability policy. This will provide a shared resource on national targets, achievements, and milestones, providing Australians with a single, reliable, authoritative voice to report on Australia’s housing system.
The Council will:
- Be advised by experts from diverse fields including finance, economics, urban development, residential construction, urban planning, and social housing sectors.
- Set targets for land supply in consultation with State and Territory Governments.
- Report on the release of government owned land.
- Report on rental affordability and homelessness.
- Report on the number of new social and affordable homes built annually.
National Housing Accord
We announced the National Housing Accord, a landmark agreement which will bring together all levels of government, institutional investors and the construction sector to tackle challenges faced in the supply and affordability of housing. The Accord has a shared ambition to build one million new well-located homes over five years from 2024.
National Housing and Homelessness Plan
We are in the process of developing The National Housing and Homelessness Plan to begin in 2024-25 as a 10-year strategy that sets out key short-, medium- and longer-term reforms needed to address housing and homelessness challenges in Australia. The Plan will be the first of its kind in our nation’s history and will set out strategies for how all levels of government can work together and with the private and community sector so more Australians have a safe and affordable place to call home. The Plan will be informed by advice provided by the newly established National Housing Supply and Affordability Council. Whilst we are developing the Plan, we are delivering a $67.5 million boost to homelessness funding through the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement 2023-24. At the beginning of National Homelessness Week in August, we released an Issues Paper, which received almost 500 public response submissions.
Further information and updates on the development of the Plan can be found here.
Social Housing Accelerator
On June 17, the Albanese Government established the Social Housing Accelerator, a $2 billion initiative to help deliver thousands of new social homes across Australia. The Social Housing Accelerator is a payment that has been delivered to State and Territory Governments to help create new homes for Australians on social housing waiting lists. All funding will be committed by states and territories within two years, ending on June 30, 2025. Under the Social Housing Accelerator, States and territories will have some flexibility in how they permanently boost social housing, including new builds, expanding programs, renovating or refurbishing existing but uninhabitable stock. This initiative continues to advance the work of the new National Housing Accord (see above) and builds on the work of National Cabinet’s renters’ rights and planning reforms. The $2 billion in additional funding brings the Albanese Government’s investment in housing and homelessness to more than $9.5 billion in the financial year ending 30 June 2023.
“This is new money, right now, for thousands of new homes and complements our ambitious housing agenda.” – Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, media release 17 June 2023
Record Housing Australia Support for New Homes
Housing Australia has broken new ground with its largest funding transaction ever, providing more than $500 million in Federal Government support to build 1,370 new homes in Melbourne.
The $517 million transaction will help build new homes through the Victorian Government’s Ground Lease Model initiative, and will include more than 650 social homes, 180 affordable homes, 470 market rental homes and 55 specialist disability accommodation homes.
The new homes – to be located in South Yarra, Prahran, Hampton East and Port Melbourne – will replace more than 500 outdated social dwellings.
Increasing Commonwealth Rent Assistance
In the Albanese Government’s May 2023 Budget 2023-24, we announced the largest increase to Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA) in more than 30 years. The Budget will increase the maximum rates of this payment by 15 per cent.
Housing Australia
To support greater supply of social and affordable rental homes, we are investing in a secure pipeline of housing funding for the long term. On July 1, 2023, an additional $2 billion in financing was released by the Albanese Government to help deliver more social and affordable rental homes across Australia. In the form of an amendment to Housing Australia's investment mandate direction, we have increased its liability cap from $5.5 billion to $7.5 billion which will enable Housing Australia to provide more low cost and long-term finance to community housing providers through the Affordable Housing Bond Aggregator.
For further information on Housing Australia contribution to housing outcomes visit their website here.
Home Guarantee Scheme (HGS)
The Home Guarantee Scheme is an initiative administered by Housing Australia on behalf of the Albanese Government designed to support eligible home buyers into a home sooner. In the last 12 months, the HGS, has helped over 102,000 Australians to purchase or build a home. It aims to achieve this by guaranteeing up to 15 per cent of the property value of an eligible buyer’s home that is financed with a loan from a Participating Lender. From 1 July, 2023, 50,000 new places were made available for the 2023-24 financial year across each of the below types of guarantees:
First Home Guarantee (FHBG)
- The First Home Guarantee aims to support eligible home buyers to buy a home sooner.
- Under the First Home Guarantee, eligible home buyers can purchase a modest home with a deposit of as little as 5 per cent (lenders criteria apply).
- The First Home Guarantee supports up to 35,000 guaranteed loans each financial year.
- Eligible borrowers can use the FHBG in conjunction with other government programs like the First Home Super Saver Scheme or state and territory first home owner grants and stamp duty concessions.
- Want to see whether you are eligible to apply? Go here for eligibility criterion and information on how to apply.
Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee (RFHBG)
- The Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee aims to support eligible regional home buyers to buy a home sooner
- Under the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee, eligible home buyers can purchase a modest home with a deposit of as little as 5 per cent (lenders credit criteria apply).
- The Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee supports up to 10,000 guaranteed loans each financial year.
- Eligible borrowers can use the RFHBG in conjunction with other government programs like the First Home Super Saver Scheme or state and territory first home owner grants an stamp duty concessions.
- Eligible regional home buyers are able to buy in the regional area they have lived in during the preceding 12 month period, or an adjacent regional area.
- More than 10,000 people in regional Australia have taken advantage of the Albanese Government’s Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee in just its first year.
- Want to see whether you are eligible to apply? Go here for eligibility criterion and information on how to apply.
Family Home Guarantee (FHG)
- The Family Guarantee aims to support eligible single parents and eligible single legal guardians of at least one dependent to enter, or re-enter, the housing market sooner.
- Under the Family Guarantee, eligible home buyers can purchase a modest existing home or build a new one with a deposit of as little as 2 per cent, regardless of whether that single parent is a first home buyer or a previous home owner.
- The Family Home Guarantee supports up to 5,000 guaranteed loans each financial year (up until 30 June 2025).
- Want to see whether you are eligible to apply? Go here for eligibility criterion and information on how to apply.
From 1 July, the Albanese Government also expanded each of the eligibility criteria for the above schemes to support a broader range of aspiring homeowners. For a list of expanded eligibility criteria see here.
Help to Buy Program
The Albanese Government’s October 2022 Budget affirmed the establishment of a Help to Buy Program that will cut the cost of buying a home by up to 40 per cent for 10,000 Australians each financial year.
Eligible home buyers will be provided with a government equity contribution of up to 40 per cent of the purchase price of a new home and up to 30 per cent of the purchase price for an existing home. Eligible home buyers will need a minimum deposit of 2 per cent and qualify for a standard home loan with a participating lender to finance the remainder of the purchase. With Help to Buy, Victorians can save up to a maximum of $340,000 on a new home purchase, and $255,000 on an existing home purchase.
You will be eligible for Labor’s Help to Buy Program if you meet the following criteria:
- Are an Australian citizen of at least 18 years of age.
- Earn $90,000 or less per annum for individuals, or $120,000 or less per annum for couples.
- Live in the purchased home as your principal place of residence.
- Not own any other land or property in Australia or overseas.
- Have saved the required 2% deposit of the home price and qualify for the remainder of the purchase through a standard home loan with a participating lender.
- Pay for any associated purchase costs like stamp duty, legal and bank fees.
Follow along with the progress of the Help to Buy Bill 2023 through the link.
“We have a country that is now riven by inequality and intergenerational injustice, which has led to an entire cohort of young Australians now being essentially locked out of the housing market. It shouldn't have to be this way.” – Dr Michelle Ananda-Rajah MP, speech to parliament 27th March 2023
