THE Victorian government’s Affordable Housing Investment Partnership (AHIP) is set to deliver an additional $1 billion in low-interest loans and guarantees to help finance up to 6,000 new social and affordable homes.
AHIP will support community housing associations and collaborative housing partnerships in secure loans to build more homes for key workers and low-income Victorians.
“We know that having a home provides a solid foundation enabling people to hold down jobs, access education and raise a family – and that’s what we’re delivering,” said Colin Brooks, minister for housing.
With the loans and guarantees looking to increase supply of social and affordable housing for the increasing number of households who have been priced out of the private housing market.
AHIP is building on the Building Financial Capacity of Housing Agencies initiative by including affordable housing for the first time.
This increases total investment for social and affordable housing projects to more than $2 billion.
The initiative also offers institutional investors, such as superannuation funds, not-for-profits, developers and local governments, the opportunity to partner with the community housing sector to help in delivering a mix of private, affordable and social housing projects.
More than $510 million in loans to community housing associations and providers have already been approved to support the development and acquisition of more than 3,100 new social housing dwellings.
AHIP will be instituted alongside the Big Housing Build, which is targeting more than 12,000 new homes while generating 10,000 jobs each year over the four-year program.
With over 7,800 homes already started under the program and more than 2,800 are complete.
With the state government also announcing it would put $1 billion towards delivering 1,300 new homes across the state’s regions in the wake of pulling the plug on the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
“Every Victorian deserves a place to call home. With this new partnership, we’ll help finance more social and affordable housing projects across the state – boosting housing supply when it’s needed most,” said Daniel Andrews, premier.
“We’re also delivering the Big Housing Build right across Victoria – Australia’s biggest ever investment in public and community housing – because nothing is more important than having a roof over your head.”
