The Centre welcomes the establishment of the Housing Australia Future Fund, securing long-term funding for new social housing, alongside mechanisms to provide immediate financial relief for low-income families.
The legislation passed today promising to deliver 30,000 new social and affordable rental homes over the next five years, with a continuing pipeline of funding for social housing. This includes 4,000 homes for women and children impacted by family and domestic violence and older women at risk of homelessness.
The legislation also includes a 15 per cent increase in the maximum rate of Commonwealth Rent Assistance, which The Centre’s CEO Deb Tsorbaris says will ease some of the cost-of-living pressures for low-income families.
“Cost of living increases are making it really tough for low-income households and increasing rent assistance will take a lot of pressure off some families who are struggling in the private rental market,” she said.
“In Victoria, we have over 31,000 priority applications on the Victorian Housing Register waiting for social housing. These new homes will get these families into stable housing and free up low-cost private rentals for others,” she said.
The legislation also includes state and territory commitment to the Better Deal for Renters, which sets minimum rental stands, limits rental increases to once per year, and sets consistent policies around reasonable grounds for eviction.
Other measures include Built-to-Rent incentives and the rollout of a Help to Buy program to reduce the cost of buying a home.
