Media Release by The Hon Julie Collins MP

Critical new investment in social and affordable rental homes

The Albanese Government will help deliver more social and affordable rental homes across Australia with an additional $2 billion in financing now available from 1 July 2023.

The Minister for Housing Julie Collins this week signed an amendment to the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation’s (NHFIC) investment mandate direction to increase its liability cap from $5.5 billion to $7.5 billion.

The increased liability cap will enable NHFIC to support more social and affordable rental homes by providing more low cost and long-term finance to community housing providers through the Affordable Housing Bond Aggregator.

The increase is expected to support around 7,000 more new social and affordable dwellings.

Housing Minister Julie Collins said she was committed to ensuring more Australians have a safe and affordable place to call home.

“Delivering more financing for social and affordable rental homes will help us to deliver this,” she said.

“We could do even more if the Senate backs our $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund – the single biggest investment in social and affordable rental housing by a Federal Government in more than a decade.

“Creating this secure pipeline of funding for the long term would be a turning point for housing in this country.”

The Albanese Government’s ambitious housing agenda includes:

  • The $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund, the single biggest investment in social and affordable housing by a Federal Government in more than a decade, which will build 30,000 new social and affordable rental homes in its first five years.
  • In this year’s Budget, an extra $67.5 million to states and territories to help tackle homelessness, as part of a $1.7 billion one-year extension of the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement.
  • In this year’s Budget, incentives to increase the supply of rental housing by improving taxation arrangements for investments in build-to-rent accommodation.
  • A new National Housing Accord, a shared ambition to build one million new well-located homes over five years from 2024.
  • $350 million to deliver an additional 10,000 affordable rental homes over five years from 2024 as part of the Accord.
  • Widening the remit of the National Housing Infrastructure Facility, making up to $575 million available to immediately support more social and affordable rental homes.

An expansion of the Home Guarantee Scheme, which has already helped more than 50,000 Australians into home ownership.