Media Release by The Hon Julie Collins MP

Start of Housing Australia Future Fund

The Albanese Government has delivered on its commitment to Australians with tomorrow marking the start of the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund.

The Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) is the single biggest investment to support 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.

Housing Australia will be responsible for administering the majority of returns from the HAFF and other key programs included in the Albanese Government’s housing reform agenda.

Fund returns will also deliver the Government’s commitments to help address acute housing needs.

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 HAFF is just one part of the Albanese Government ambitious housing reform agenda which also includes:

  • A new national target to build 1.2 million well located homes
  • A $3 billion New Homes Bonus, and $500 million Housing Support Program  
  • A $2 billion Social Housing Accelerator to deliver thousands of new social homes across Australia  
  • A National Housing Accord which includes federal funding to deliver 10,000 affordable homes over five years from 2024 (to be matched by up to another 10,000 by the states and territories)   
  • An investment of an additional $1 billion in the National Housing Infrastructure Facility to support more homes 
  • Up to $575 million in funding already unlocked from the National Housing Infrastructure Facility, with homes under construction across the country 
  • Increasing the maximum rate of Commonwealth Rent Assistance by 15 per cent, the largest increase in more than 30 years   
  • An additional $2 billion in financing for more social and affordable rental housing through Housing Australia
  • New incentives to boost the supply of rental housing by changing arrangements for investments in Build-to-Rent accommodation   
  • A $1.7 billion one year extension of the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement with states and territories, including a $67.5 million boost to homelessness funding over the next year  
  • The development of a new National Housing and Homelessness Plan  
  • States and territories committing to A Better Deal for Renters  
  • The introduction of the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee and the expansion of the overall Home Guarantee Scheme, which has now helped more than 73,000 people into their first home since the election
  • States and territories supporting the national roll out of the Help to Buy program, which will reduce the cost of buying a home

Quotes attributable to Federal Housing Minister Julie Collins:

“Tomorrow marks another important milestone in the new era for housing policy under the Albanese Government.

The $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund is a secure, ongoing pipeline of funding for social and affordable rental housing.

This will mean more Australians have a safe and affordable place to call home.

The Housing Australia Future Fund is just one part of our ambitious housing reform agenda, which is already making a real difference right across the country.”