- Cook Government ensuring every Western Australian has access to a quality home
- $434.5 million additional investment in 2025-26 Mid-year Review focused on boosting housing supply across the State
- Housing supply growth accelerating with more than 23,700 homes approved over the past year, and growth in home completions the highest in the nation
- $234.3 million boost to the Social and Affordable Housing Investment Fund to deliver and refurbish more than 400 homes
- Investment builds on the WA Labor Government's strong track record of investment in housing and homelessness measures, with $6.3 billion committed since 2021
The Cook Government will invest a further $434.5 million to accelerate housing supply to ensure every Western Australian has access to a secure home.
The significant funding injection in the 2025-26 Mid-year Review announced today brings the WA Labor Government's investment in housing and homelessness measures to a record $6.3billion since 2021.
The supply of housing in Western Australia is accelerating with the number of new homes approved growing by 18.4 per cent over the year to October, reaching 23,726 homes. WA is making strong progress toward its Housing Accord target, with home completions increasing by 25.2 per cent in 2024-25, the strongest growth in the nation.
The Social and Affordable Housing Investment Fund will receive a $234.3 million injection to deliver an additional 329new social housing dwellings and refurbishments to 91 older dwellings. This will bring the WA Labor Government's investment in the program to $2.1billion since 202122.
The State Government has delivered more than 3,800 additional dwellings, with a further 1,300 under construction or contract. This new investment will boost the pipeline of new social and affordable homes to 6,600 across the State through to 202829.
The WARent Relief Program has also been extended to 30June2026, with a $6.5 million top-up to provide oneoff rent relief grants of up to $5,000 to tenants experiencing financial stress and are at risk of eviction. The program has supported about 3,700 households to remain in secure housing since it launched in 2023, supported by an initial investment of $24.4 million.
The Cook Government is focused on removing barriers to housing delivery by supporting critical enabling infrastructure, increasing land supply and growing the construction workforce.
The Mid-year Review includes a further $16.5million for the Housing Enabling Infrastructure Fund, to invest in new water infrastructure and planning for future housing projects. It will unlock around 5,000 new lots across key residential growth areas, building on the $206 million already invested in the program to deliver more than 60,000 new lots.
To further boost land supply, DevelopmentWA will spend an additional $61.9 million over the next four years to provide additional lots including in Alkimos, Brookdale, Byford, Casuarina, Hamilton Hill and Yanchep.
As part of the government's commitment to growing WA's construction workforce, $10 million has been allocated to extend the $10,000 Construction Visa Subsidy Programand Build a Life in WAincentive, adding 1,000 new places to the programs. This builds on the WA Labor Government's $33 million investment in these programs to support 3,300 interstate and overseas skilled construction workers to come to WA.
The Cook Government will make an additional investment of more than $57million in the Mid-year Review to continue to address demand for housing in regional and remote Western Australia. This includes:
- a further $14.7 million to deliver an additional 21 Government Regional Officer Housing dwellings for essential workers in the regions;
- $10.9million will be provided to the North-West Aboriginal Housing Fund to acquire 14new dwellings for an expanded Aboriginal Employee Housing Grants Program;
- $26.9million will be provided towards tenancy management and tenancy support programs for remote Aboriginal communities; and
- $1.3 million will be provided to establish a dedicated Housing Supply Office in the Pilbara to work with key stakeholders to identify and address specific barriers to housing supply in the region. The team will report directly to the Housing Supply Unit in the Department of Treasury and Finance.
Early this month, Keystart launched its new Skilled Start Home Loan, for apprentices, graduates, and skilled construction workers, providing another pathway to home ownership for younger Western Australians.
As stated by Premier Roger Cook:
"Western Australia's economy is the strongest in the nation and its population is growing faster than anywhere else in the country, which is why my government is focused on building more homes.
"We're increasing land supply, cutting red tape, and developing our housing construction workforce - and as part of Mid-year Review, we're providing hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to do even more so every Western Australian can have the security a home provides.
"By continuing our strong financial management, we can continue to prioritise delivering more housing and ensure our State's economy remains the strongest in the nation."
As stated by Treasurer Rita Saffioti:
"Every Western Australian deserves a safe and affordable place to call home, which is why we are investing at record levels to accelerate housing supply right across the State.
"Western Australia's growth in housing completions is leading the nation, and we want to build on this momentum, by reducing the barriers to housing delivery, unlocking land and growing our construction workforce.
"We're building more social and affordable homes, supporting vulnerable renters to stay in their homes, helping first home buyers get into the market and looking at new ways to tackle the housing pressures in our regions."
Comments attributed to Housing and Works Minister John Carey:
"Our government has made a record spend in housing measures since 2021, and the Mid-year Review builds on our strong record of reform and investment.
"We met our ambitious target of delivering 3,300 social homes in four years, but we don't rest on our laurels - setting new goals to support more vulnerable Western Australians into secure housing.
"The Mid-year Review bolsters our delivery of social housing, continues our programs to accelerate the delivery of housing across the continuum and extends supports to vulnerable members of the community to maintain their tenancies."
