Media Release by The Hon Tanya Pibersek MP

Home buyers in South East Queensland to benefit from Housing Affordability Fund

Tanya Plibersek, today visited Woodlands Estate with the Federal Member for Forde, Brett Raguse, to highlight the opportunity for south east Queensland to benefit from the Rudd Government’s $512 million investment in the Housing Affordability Fund.

Ms Plibersek said: “The Government is getting on with the job of implementing $2.2 billion worth of new measures for housing affordability announced in the recent Budget.

“Home buyers moving to new communities like Woodlands are ideally placed to benefit from the Housing Affordability Fund when the first grants are awarded later this year.

“While the Fund is open to applications from all over Australia, priority will be given to locations with high growth rates, where large numbers of entry-level homes are needed.

“As one of the fastest growing parts of Australia, south east Queensland is well positioned to be a beneficiary of the Housing Affordability Fund.”

Mr Raguse said: “The Rudd Government is delivering on its election commitments in the key area of housing affordability.

“Woodlands is a good example of the sort of modern community that developers, local government and residents can create by working together.

“With the added incentive provided by the Housing Affordability Fund, home buyers would not only be moving to a great location in the growing south east Queensland region, they will also pay less for their new homes.”

The Housing Affordability Fund will encourage all levels of government to work together to make housing more affordable by addressing two significant supply-side barriers to housing development:

  • Holding costs incurred by developers as a result of long planning and approval waiting times.
  • Infrastructure costs, such as water, sewerage, transport, and open space.

The Fund will target green-field and in-fill developments where high dwelling demand exists or is forecast for the next five years.

The Fund will be distributed by direct grants, primarily to local governments, but also to local government associations and State or Territory Governments, through a competitive selection process.

Proposals will be assessed against transparent, needs-based selection criteria and will have to demonstrate that cost savings are passed on to home buyers.

For further information, visit Housing Affordability Fund (HAF).