Government opens consultation on national housing plan

The 10-year strategy aims to help more Australians access safe and affordable housing.

It will set out a shared vision across all levels of government to inform future housing and homelessness policy in Australia and key short, medium, and longer-term reforms needed to address housing and homelessness challenges.

Released yesterday (7 August), on the first day of Homelessness Week, the issues paper seeks feedback on what a national, co-ordinated plan should include.

While the government has outlined that the issues paper considers factors affecting the entire housing and homelessness support system, such as housing supply and demand, it “does not comprehensively cover specific cohorts because many priority cohorts are broad with a large degree of intersectionality”.

However, it is seeking stakeholder feedback on the following issues:

• Homelessness
• Homelessness services
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander housing
• Social housing
• Housing costs, home ownership, and the rental market in Australia
• Planning, zoning, and development
• The impact of climate change and disasters on housing security, sustainability, and health

The consultation is open until 22 September 2023.

Releasing the issues paper, Minister for Housing, Julie Collins, commented: “Too many people are struggling to find a safe and affordable place to buy, to rent or to spend the night.

“Through the National Housing and Homelessness Plan, we will set out how these issues can be tackled head-on by governments across the country with short, medium and long-term reforms.”

Ms Collins said consultation with the nation’s housing sector and the community were crucial to ensuring the plan “achieves real change in improving supply of housing, including social and affordable housing, and improves housing outcomes for Australians”.

Writing in the foreword of the issues paper, she said: “In working together, governments, communities and the private and not-for-profit sectors can help ensure more Australians have access to the security and dignity a home brings.”

The Albanese government said the National Housing and Homeless Plan would build on existing housing initiatives, including:

• The $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund
• A $2 billion Social Housing Accelerator
• Increasing maximum rates of Commonwealth Rent Assistance by 15 per cent
• Additional $2 billion in financing for community housing through the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation
• A $1.7 billion one-year extension of the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement with states and territories

The Property Council of Australia has welcomed the release of the issues paper with its chief executive Mike Zorbas stating he was pleased that the government was “leaning into the challenge” that the nation faced.

He said: “They understand that Australia’s housing future must be defined by a targeted boost in the supply of new homes and better planning systems for our cities.

“We welcome Housing Minister Julie Collins’ recognition that NHHA (National Housing and Homelessness Agreement) goals require government and stakeholder collaboration given the property industry’s leadership role in creating our cities.

“The stark reality is that Australia, our land rich and wealthy country, has underinvested in social and affordable housing for decades.”

Homelessness Australia also supported the consultation invitation issued by the government on the National Housing and Homelessness Plan.

Kate Colvin, Homelessness Australia CEO, said: “The national plan is an opportunity to ask the question – what is creating homelessness in Australia and what do we need to do to fix it?

“Too often government plans simply describe a problem and include vague suggestions for possible reforms. Then they end up on the shelf, where they gather dust and effect no real change.

“Homelessness and Australia’s housing crisis are too damaging and too important to end up on the shelf.”

[Related: The key housing measures of the budget 2023-24]