THE Albanese government will invest a further $11.3 billion in housing in the Budget, including $1 billion in crisis accommodation for women and children fleeing domestic violence, as well focus on increasing the number of purpose built student accommodation (PBSA) in Australia.
This week’s budget will increase the proportion of grants from $175 million to $700 million to support crisis and transitional housing, allocate another $1 billion to get homes built sooner and a further $9.3 billion over the next five years agreed with states and territories to combat homelessness, provide crisis support and build and repair social housing. This includes a doubling of Commonwealth homelessness funding to $400 million every year, matched by states and territories.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said this Budget means more tradies, fewer barriers to construction, less talk and more homes.
“This isn’t about one suburb or one city or one state. It’s a challenge facing Australians everywhere and it needs action from every level of government,” said the PM.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said housing is a big priority for the government and it will be a big focus of the Budget.
“Australia needs to build more homes more quickly and that’s what this substantial investment will help to deliver.
“We’re delivering billions more dollars in the Budget to build more homes across the country because we know that to address this housing challenge, we need to boost supply,” he added.
The announcement comes after the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council chair and former Mirvac CEO Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz declared that social housing is essential infrastructure, echoing Robert Pradolin, former General Manager for Frasers Property Australia, and founding director of charity group, Housing All Australians.
In 2022, Housing All Australians commissioned an economic report by SGS economics into the long-term costs to Australia of not providing sufficient social and affordable housing. It calculated that the additional cost to Australian taxpayers by 2032 will reach $25 billion PA and growing. It also determined that a very attractive cost benefit ratio of 2:1 existed for the creation of housing that mitigated long term government (read taxpayers) costs. It actually makes good business sense to build more homes.
This week’s budget measures builds the $25 billion the government has already committed, including:
- $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund to build 30,000 social and affordable rental homes.
- $2 billion Social Housing Accelerator to deliver around 4,000 new social homes across Australia.
- $3 billion New Homes Bonus to incentivise states and territories to build more homes.
- $5.5 billion Help to Buy scheme to help more Australians buy their own home.
- $2.7 billion to increase Commonwealth Rent Assistance by 15%.
- $2 billion in financing for more social and affordable rental homes.
The government has set an ambitious target of building 1.2 million homes by the end of the decade, which the industry said is an impossible task due to the labour shortages and low building approvals.
Minister for Housing, Julie Collins said building more homes is the best way to address Australia’s housing challenges.
“Homes for Australia will turbocharge the construction of new homes right across the country and ease the pressure on Australians doing it tough.
“We’re working across government, and with other tiers of government, to achieve the ambitious national target of 1.2 million new homes by the end of the decade.
“This will deliver more homes for home buyers, more homes for renters and more homes for Australians who need them.”
But the government last week announced a $91 million investment to increase the building and construction workforce numbers.
“We know this is a challenge, but it’s a challenge we have to meet. We need more tradies and construction workers.
“We also need to reduce pressure on the private rental market. That’s why the Government is today announcing we will work with the higher education sector on new regulation to require universities to increase their supply of student accommodation for domestic and international students,” said Albanese.
Minister for Education, Jason Clare said the government is discussing with industry to deliver more purpose‑built student accommodation.
“We need more purpose‑built housing to support students in higher education and that’s what these reforms, developed in consultation with the sector, will help to drive.”
Property Council Chief Executive Mike Zorbas welcomed the historic recognition of purpose-built student accommodation as a critical asset class supporting Australia’s housing needs.
“These projects are the fastest way to add housing choice for young people and take pressure off the broader rental market,” he said.
The Student Accommodation Council, a division of the Property Council which comprises the sector’s largest providers of student accommodation, also welcomed the focus on housing Australian students.
Student Accommodation Council Executive Director Torie Brown said the sector was looking forward to working with the government and Australia’s reputable tertiary education sector on implementing the new regulation.
“Today’s historic announcement recognises that the key to maintaining a sustainable and prosperous university sector, is our ability to house students in accommodation that suits their needs, is safe and conveniently located,” Brown said. “And we know the fastest way for universities to add the student accommodation they need is to partner with the private sector,”
Zorbas also applauded the government’s commitments to social housing and crisis accommodation.
“Safe, secure and well-built housing is something all Australians deserve, and we welcome the government’s commitment to providing more and better housing for some of the most vulnerable people in our community,” he said.
But Zorbas said the questions remain about the existing Australian workforce’s capacity to deliver on the pipeline of housing needed.
“We must be realistic about the workforce required to deliver these future homes.
“While the extra skills and training funding in the Budget announced earlier this week is welcome, we need more than training alone to turn out the construction workforce Australia requires at the speed we need.
“With only 1.8% of migrants coming into the country over the past twenty years focused on construction work, we need to ensure we boost the share who will build our future homes,” he said.
