The Albanese Labor Government will make significant housing investments in tomorrow’s federal Budget to help the comprehensive Homes for Australia plan.

The Prime Minister convened the National Cabinet where premiers and chief ministers backed the new measures in the Budget to help Australians build, rent and buy, including:

• $1 billion directed towards crisis and transitional accommodation for women and children fleeing domestic violence and youth under the National Housing Infrastructure Facility.
• $1 billion to get homes built sooner, funding for states and territories to build roads, sewers, energy, water and community infrastructure needed for additional homes and social housing supply.
• A $9.3 billion five-year National Agreement on Social Housing and Homelessness for states and territories to combat homelessness, provide crisis support and build and repair social housing.

“We are encouraging states and territories to kick-start building by providing an extra $1 billion to help fund the roads and services new homes need and for new social housing. This Budget means more tradies, fewer barriers to construction, less talk and more homes,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says.

The Housing Industry Association (HIA) has welcomed investment to deliver more critical housing to those who need it.

“Today’s announcement provides an additional boost to the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) to build more housing under that scheme. It is something HIA has been calling for as part of this year’s federal Budget,” HIA managing director Jocelyn Martin says.

“The Homes for Australia plan also includes working with the higher education sector to increase the supply of student accommodation for domestic and international students. This segment of the market is often overlooked when it comes to housing investment and can often lead to more pressure on the private housing market.”

The Albanese government has also announced $90.6 million to boost the number of construction workers, including 20,000 new fee-free places, to assist in its goal of building 1.2 million homes by the end of the decade.

Master Builders Australia chief executive Denita Wawn says the federal government has given new home buildings across the housing spectrum a much-needed funding boost.

“The key to solving the housing crisis: supply, supply, supply. We know whether it’s social and community housing, rentals or owner-occupiers, there is not enough supply to house all Australians,” she says.

“Targeted measures in social housing, student accommodation and critical infrastructure all go towards relieving some of the more acute supply pinch points. With a strong funding stream now locked in, governments need to turn their minds to reducing the other barriers to housing supply like reducing the cost of building and time it takes to build.”

This significant investment builds on the more than $25 billion in new housing investments the Albanese government is delivering over the next decade, 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, a $5.5 billion Help to Buy scheme, $2.7 billion to increase Commonwealth rent assistance by 15% and $2 billion in financing for more social and affordable rental homes.