The $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) has passed parliament, paving the way for new social and affordable homes to be built.
Under the plan, 30,000 new buildings will be built over five years, but there is no timeline for when construction will begin.
Earlier this week Housing Minister Julie Collins said the government intended to have the fund operational as soon as possible.
“We anticipate that it will take weeks, hopefully, less than a couple of months, to get the fund up and running,” she said on Monday.
“And then, of course, we need to wait for the returns, which is why we’re putting some money up-front in terms of getting more social and affordable homes on the ground through what will become Housing Australia, that’s currently the National Housing Finance Investment Corporation.”
The nation’s peak housing and homelessness bodies have welcomed the passing of the legislation.
Community Housing Industry Association CEO Wendy Hayhurst said it’s a good start to addressing the housing crisis.
“If we look back over the last 10 years, there have not been any federal government programs of note,” she said.
“Whilst this isn’t everything we need, it’s 30,000 more than we have had really in the last 10 years coming out of the federal government.
“So that is the big win for us.”
Changes to original plan
Ahead of the final vote, the government made some changes to the HAFF to ensure it had the support of the crossbench.
It includes a guarantee that at least $500 million will be spent per year from the fund.
While a minimum of 1,200 homes will be built in each state and territory across the five year period, to ensure the funding is shared across the country.
Separate from the HAFF, the government announced $2 billion in June will be spent through what it called the Social Housing Accelerator.
The government hasn’t said how many homes the $2 billion will build, but it has suggested it will be in the thousands.
