PowerHousing Australia today applauded the work of Treasurer Morrison, Assistant Minister Michael Sukkar and Senator Doug Cameron and the Federal Senate to pass legislation for the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC) to boost social and affordable housing finance and infrastructure.
Nicola Lemon, Chair of PowerHousing Australia, which represents 31 of Australia’s largest Tier One and scale Community Housing Providers, said "the passing overnight of the NHFIC legislation and the opening of the Corporation as of 1 July is a monumental step towards cracking the massive social and affordable housing challenges confronting the country today.
"Institutional and international investment into Australian affordable housing will become common place and in years to come the NHFIC will be seen to be a foundation stone central to tackling affordability.
"The Community Housing Provider (CHP) Sector and broader residential industry have been strong in support of NHFIC to operate an affordable housing bond aggregator to encourage greater private and institutional investment and provide cheaper and longer-term finance to registered providers of affordable housing. The NHFIC will also administer the NHIF, a five-year $1 billion facility to provide CHPS with concessional loans, grants and equity to finance critical infrastructure required to deliver more housing supply sooner.
"With the NHFIC able to open its doors as of July 1, there will be Community Housing Providers with shovel ready projects that will now be able to access some of the lowest cost finance, which will greatly assist them to provide affordable housing options to growing numbers of Australians.
"With the laying of this foundation stone for social and affordable housing, the formal creation of the NHFIC will become a pivotal moment for the country, as there is not one city or region that avoids the pressures that the current affordable housing crisis throws at Australian families and those on low to moderate incomes.
"Community Housing Providers are poised to ensure this new opportunity will deliver social change to the benefit of all Australians," said Nicola Lemon. ---
