QUEENSLAND industry leaders are supportive but sceptical about the viability of the state government’s ambitious new Homes for Queenslanders housing plan.
While the government’s Homes for Queenslanders five-pillar housing plan announced last week has been broadly welcomed by the industry, details around its delivery remain unclear.
“The principles are very sound, especially the points that are focused on ramping up supply, and if it can be delivered there’s no doubt it would put Queensland in a much better position than it is in today,” said Antonia Mercorella, CEO at REIQ.
“Construction of more social housing is fundamentally important and I think we all want to see our woeful social housing build and growing social housing waitlist turned around.”
“However, we’re calling the government to reveal the detail – the roadmap that will take us from here to there, because we’re struggling to understand how it will be different from past targets that have fallen short.”
The $1.3 billion dollar plan includes five pillars:
Build more homes, faster
- $350m Incentivising Infill Fund, pilot Ground Lease Model, State Facilitated Development Team, Inclusionary Planning Pilot Program
Support Queensland renters
- $160m Renters Relief Package, more RentConnect officers, Portable Bond Scheme, Code of Conduct
- Law changes regarding rent bidding, installing modifications, entry notice periods, application forms/platforms, reletting costs, fee-free payment options
Help first homeowners into the market
- Support for First Nations people, Queensland Home Finance Loan Pilot Program, administering Federal Government’s Help to Buy Scheme
Boost social housing Big Build
- $1.25bn plan to deliver 53,500 social homes by 2046
Work towards ending homelessness
- $390m in additional funding for homelessness services, two-worker model, independent sector review, eight new youth foyers
“To really enact change on-the-ground, what’s missing from this plan is addressing the tax environment, the cost of construction and productivity, and support for apprenticeships and skills in Queensland,” added Mercorella.
Mercorella also noted that more attention to the root causes of homelessness in the state is needed rather than just Band-Aid solutions.
“We also think the first homeowner support pillar is missing a trick or two – there seems to be a focus on helping people in the rental sphere, but it concerns us that there is no focus on creating pathways to home ownership,” said Mercorella.
“Queensland has the lowest home ownership rates in Australia, and a concerted focus to turn this around by assisting those who want to transition into owning their own home would have widespread benefits.”
Kent Leicester, CEO at KDL Property Group, also expressed support of the initiative but raised concerns on its effectiveness when paired with the state’s labour issues and slow approvals by councils and water authorities.
“Local councils and authorities are so under-manned dealing with planning and critical infrastructure approvals, the time it can take for a residential project to become ‘shovel ready’ has doubled compared to five years ago,” said Leicester.
Leicester added that KDL was also working on projects with funding from the Queensland Government Growth Acceleration Fund (GAF).
“GAF is one of many excellent state government housing initiatives, but they could also work more closely with councils to help clear red tape to speed up approvals,” said Leicester.
“We have residential sites ready to be added to the housing market, but the land is caught up in approval roadblocks.”
