Qld announces affordable housing partnership

The partnership, which is the first of its kind for the Queensland government, will see almost 600 new social and affordable homes be built.

While the state government said it would “continue to work collaboratively with BHC and QIC to finalise sites and contracts for each project”, construction of the first seven projects under the BHC and QIC partnership is scheduled to commence progressively from 2023 to 2025.

These seven projects have an estimated capital value of $250 million and support 225 construction jobs.

Further projects are expected to be announced as they are secured. 

Treasurer and Minister for Trade and Investment, Cameron Dick, commented: “Every Queenslander deserves a safe home to live in and a secure roof over their head.

“There’s never been a more important time to plan and deliver the infrastructure that Queenslanders need, including social and affordable housing. 

“When applications opened for the $1 billion Housing Investment Fund, we told the market we were seeking proposals which identified new solutions to deliver housing for vulnerable Queenslanders. 

“This commercial partnership is a model that has not been seen before in Queensland. It will see BHC leverage QIC’s strong track record of securing and managing institutional investment to deliver new social and affordable housing.”

The Treasurer welcomed BHC’s involvement, stating that its “proud history of delivering housing for vulnerable Queenslanders is a testament to their dedication and expertise”.

“We’re excited about continuing our partnership with them,” he said.  

The new partnership forms part of the government’s Queensland Housing Strategy, a $2.9 billion housing action plan to help address the supply issue and increase social housing and homelessness support. This is the largest investment in social housing in the state’s history. 

It is a key part of the state government’s state budget for 2022, which is being released in full today (21 June).

Minister for Communities and Housing, Leeanne Enoch, commented: “The Palaszczuk Government is backing the largest concentrated investment in social housing in Queensland’s history – $2.9 billion in funding, including $1.9 billion over four years for the new Queensland Housing Investment Growth Initiative.

“This will increase the social and affordable housing supply by almost 10,000 over the life of the Queensland Housing Strategy, including 7,400 new social and affordable homes,” Ms Enoch said.

“This investment means we can house more vulnerable Queenslanders sooner.”

Last month the government announced the first two projects from the Housing Investment Fund, located at Ethel Street, Chermside and Sutton Street, Redcliffe.

Providing more affordable housing, particularly for at-risk Australians, has been a key point of focus for both state and federal governments recently – with urgency building given the rising cost of living and deteriorating housing affordability.

Moreover, according to recent research from non-bank lender Bluestone, Australians’ ability to afford a home loan deteriorated over April, breaking a two-month spell of improvement.

Its Home Loan Affordability Index came in at 97.9 points for the three months to April, sharply higher than the 95.9 result recorded in the March quarter and more than 10 points above the long-term average of 87.3.

[Related: NSW to trial shared equity scheme for home buyers]