Work is underway on 315 new social and affordable homes in the ACT, back by the Albanese Labor Government's Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF).
This mixed‑tenure project will deliver 420 homes, including 211 affordable homes and 104 social homes near the heart of Belconnen, close to shops, public transport, schools and parks.
This project is a clear example of the HAFF delivering more homes for low and moderate income Australians while boosting overall housing supply and attracting more long‑term investment into the housing system.
The project has been supported by Housing Australia through Round 1 of the HAFF and is being developed by Assemble on behalf of its capital partner, AustralianSuper.
Once complete, the social homes will be managed by Housing Choices Australia who will also jointly manage the affordable housing component along with Assemble.
These homes are some of the 55,000 social and affordable homes that the Albanese Labor Government is delivering through our ambitious $45 billion plan to build more homes and make them easier for first home buyers to buy, including:
- Working with states, territories and industry to remove barriers to building through the National Planning Reform Blueprint, reforms to environmental approvals and a pause and streamlining of the National Construction Code.
- Training more tradies through our investments in Free TAFE and $10,000 apprenticeship incentives.
- Helping more than 230,000 first home buyers buy their own home under the 5 per cent Deposit Scheme.
- Launching the national Help to Buy shared equity scheme for those most locked out of home ownership.
Every one of the homes in this project along with tens of thousands more nationwide have been opposed by the Coalition, including Housing Australia Future Fund homes, Build to Rent projects, and the homes to be delivered under Labor's 100,000 Homes for First Home Buyers policy.
The Coalition did not build a single social or affordable home in Canberra in their near‑decade in office - and only built 373 across the country.
While there's still more work to do to fix a housing crisis generations in the making, Labor's making progress and this project represents an important milestone for Canberrans.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Housing, Homelessness and Cities, Clare O'Neil
"Projects like this show exactly what the HAFF is designed to do - deliver more social and affordable homes while increasing overall housing supply. These new homes will give hundreds of Canberrans a secure, affordable place to live close to jobs, transport, schools and services.
"After a decade where hardly any social or affordable homes were funded by the Commonwealth, Labor is getting on with the job. This project is part of tens of thousands of homes we're delivering across the country to help more Australians find a safe, secure and affordable place to live."
Quotes attributable to Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury, and Member for Fenner, Hon Dr Andrew Leigh MP
"In a housing crunch, the only cure is more homes. This project adds hundreds of them in the heart of Belconnen: close to parks, shops, buses and a decent coffee."
