Nation Building Economic Stimulus Plan – Social Housing Initiative Stage Two
The Australian Government today announced that it has approved over $5 billion worth of projects under the Nation Building Economic Stimulus Plan Social Housing Initiative.
The $4.546 billion allocated as Stage Two follows $692 million of projects approved under Stage One in April.
These projects are the biggest ever investment in social housing in Australia.
The funding will see around 19,200 new homes added to the public and community housing stock by 2012. Three quarters of these projects are to be completed by December 2010.
Allocations and the number of new dwellings in each State and Territory are:
| Jurisdiction | Allocation for Construction ($) | Number of Dwellings |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | $1,763,647,000 | 6,110 |
| Vic | $1,166,757,000 | 4,539 |
| QLD | $1,085,472,000 | 4,132 |
| WA | $549,727,000 | 1,990 |
| SA | $404,263,000 | 1,371 |
| TAS | $125,480,000 | 510 |
| ACT | $87,080,000 | 340 |
| NT | $55,574,000 | 208 |
| Total | $5,238,000,000 | 19,200 |
State and Territory Governments are now finalising contracts with builders.
The approved projects include funding for a number of specialist services, such as Common Ground models similar to that in New York.
The projects also include contracts for the direct purchase of off-the-plan apartment and house and land packages from private developments. This will allow many developments to attract further finance to complete their developments.
Industry has advised the Australian Government that a further 2,000 private dwellings are able to be built because sales from the social housing program have made it possible to get finance for medium to large scale projects.