THE Australian government’s Housing Australia has opened the first funding round to support delivery of 40,000 social and affordable homes through the Housing Australia Future Fund.
Applications are now open for eligible social and affordable housing projects via the federal government’s Housing Australia Future Fund Facility (HAFFF) and National Housing Accord Facility (NHAF).
The HAFFF is expected to support the delivery of 30,000 social and affordable homes over a five-year period, while the NHAF is expected to support the delivery of 10,000 affordable homes.
The HAFFF and NHAF programs provide a platform for institutional investment, including superannuation funds, into social and affordable housing and is expected to help speed up establishing a viable asset class in Australia.
Target groups to be supported by housing include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, women and children impacted by domestic and family violence, older women at risk of homelessness, current and former Australian Defence Force members and frontline workers such as police, nurses and cleaners.
Funding is available to eligible entities including registered not-for-profit community housing providers (CHPs), local, state and territory governments and entities that provide housing for Indigenous peoples and current and former members of the Australian Defence Force.
Consortia that include one of these eligible entities partnering with private sector parties, can also apply.
Financing available includes Availability Payments (25-year Government-backed payments for making social and affordable housing available), Concessional Loans and capital grants.
Applicants need to put forward eligible projects for funding such as the construction of new homes, purchase of newly-built homes, renovation of existing residential dwellings that were otherwise uninhabitable or conversion of non-residential properties to residential dwellings.
Applications for the first funding round close on 22 March 2024.
