THE Australian Institute of Architects is calling for the Albanese government to invest in a $4 billion fund for First Nations co-designed social housing to keep up with Closing The Gap initiatives.
The nation’s peak body for the architectural profession, has made a submission to the 2024 Australian Government Budget for the additional $4 billion investment into the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF).
The institute is proposing the First Nations-specific funding should be within an additional $10bn of social and affordable housing to double HAFF’s investment pool.
“Australia needs better and more culturally appropriate housing for our First Nations people,” said Stuart Tanner, national president of the Australian Institute of Architects.
“A codesign process together with First Nations peoples can support communities to build and maintain housing and local economies through construction and skills development.”
Tanner added that First Nations Australians should be prioritised in the face of the current failing of one in five dwellings inhabited by Indigenous people not meeting an acceptable standard, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
“A safe, secure and sustainable home has become out of reach for many households. We need to increase the supply of housing to change the dynamics and provide the human right of shelter to all Australians,” said Tanner.
“This is a core role of the government, which rightly established the HAFF to reinstate appropriate funding for social and affordable housing and meet community needs.”
The institute’s pre-Budget submission to the Australian Government also pitches energy efficiency, decarbonisation of construction, accessibility and greater design oversight for housing and the built environment.
Adding that social and affordable housing in Australia should be overseen by design professionals to ensure dwellings are liveable, to budget and minimise costs, with minimum standards for HAFF-funded housing conditional on development approval by multi-disciplinary design review panels, a minimum 8-Star energy efficiency standard, no gas appliances and design by an architect.
On top of pre-approved architect designs to meet quality, light, airflow, energy and other requirements to enable faster approvals and cost reductions.
The institute has recommended a fund seeded with $500 million to enable net zero building materials research, assist universities and TAFE sectors to commercialise such products, and support local manufacturing, in a bid to accelerate low carbon buildings.
As well as a $50 million advance for targeted professional development and skills training in energy efficiency and condensation mitigation and a $10 million plan to research and develop guidelines for adaptive reuse and retrofitting of government buildings could support decarbonisation and landfill waste.
