Housing policy framework
In 1943, the Commonwealth Housing Commission was appointed by the Commonwealth Government to evaluate the condition of Australia’s housing stock. Due to the combined impact of the Great Depression and the use of labour and building materials in supporting the war effort, appropriate and secure housing was incredibly scarce during this time (Dufty‑Jones 2018). In response to Australia’s sizable housing shortage, the government began to provide people with adequate housing, to foster economic development and replace the tenement housing present at the time (Troy 2012; Macintyre 2015).
In 1944, the Commonwealth Housing Commission reported a shortage of some 300,000 dwellings and advised the Commonwealth to provide housing to overcome this housing deficit (Pawson et al. 2020). This advice would later result in the establishment of the first Commonwealth-State Housing Agreement (CSHA) in 1945.
The CSHA was an agreement between the Commonwealth and states/territories to provide funds for the construction of new dwellings. As a result, social housing provision from governments became a more prominent aspect of the housing landscape. The original 1945 CSHA has been updated numerous times, with the 2003 CSHA being the final revision, before it was officially replaced by the National Affordable Housing Agreement (NAHA) in 2009 (Parliament of Australia 2017). The NAHA was superseded by the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement (NHHA) in 2018 (DSS 2022a) and the National Agreement on Social Housing and Homelessness (NASHH) in 2024.
Historically, social housing was built to stimulate the economy, provide people with secure accommodation, and facilitate participation in the workforce (Pawson et al. 2020). As such, access to social housing was made available to predominantly working families on very low, low, and moderate incomes (Groenhart et al. 2014; Yates 2013). However, from 1956 to 1973, the Government’s housing strategy shifted towards encouraging home ownership and supporting low-income households in the private rental market. In 1973, income eligibility limits were introduced to social housing households, signifying the beginning of the shift towards the current policy where social housing allocations are partly based on need (Yates 2013).
By the 1999 CSHA, a greater emphasis was placed on helping families and individuals that could not be housed in the private market. Accordingly, a key feature of the 1999 CSHA was providing housing assistance according to need, classified by income, rather than security of tenure (ANAO 2006).
With the introduction of the NAHA in 2009, provision of social housing focused on assisting households experiencing disadvantage, and more complex needs – or in other words, people who are in greatest need, especially people experiencing homelessness (Pawson et al. 2020).
Current policy landscape
National Agreement on Social Housing and Homelessness (NASHH)
The National Agreement on Social Housing and Homelessness replaced the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement (NHHA) on 1 July 2024. It is a 5 year agreement between the Australian and state and territory governments under the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009. The Agreement supports the operation of Australia’s social housing and homelessness services sectors and is underpinned by a new outcomes framework along with a commitment to improve data and reporting.
National Housing Supply and Affordability Council
The Council provides independent, evidence-based expert advice to Government on housing supply and affordability matters (NHSAC 2024). The Council builds the evidence base for national housing policy through its research, housing supply and demand forecasts, and by working to improve data availability and quality. The Council also engages with, and learns from, the diverse perspectives of stakeholders who are equally committed to achieving real reform in the housing system. The Council reports annually to the Minister for Housing on its research and the state of the housing system.
National Housing Accord
The National Housing Accord (2022) brings together all levels of government, investors and the residential development, building and construction sector to unlock quality, affordable housing supply over the medium term. The Accord recognises the need for more housing to be provided by the market, with government playing a pivotal role in the investment of building affordable housing that is close to services and other amenities.
Australian Government funding of $350 million will help support the delivery of 10,000 affordable homes over five years from 2024. Additionally, state and territory governments have committed to deliver up to 10,000 new affordable homes nationally, supporting a total of up to 20,000 new affordable homes under the Accord (Treasury 2024).
There are a range of programs designed to help reach the Accord’s targets:
- Housing Support Program
- $500 million initiative to help kick start housing supply, including connecting essential services and amenities to support new housing development or building planning capability.
- In the 2024–25 Budget, an expansion of this program was announced, with a further $1 billion being made available to states and territories to deliver new housing- including for connecting essential services. This brings the total funding for the Housing Support Program to $1.5 billion.
National Planning Reform Blueprint
Outlines planning, zoning, land release and other measures to improve housing supply and affordability.
New Home Bonus
$3 billion to help incentivise states and territories to build more than their share of the targets listed under the Accord.
Social Housing Accelerator Payment
A $2 billion payment to states and territories to permanently increase the social housing stock across Australia.
Housing Australia
Housing Australia (formerly the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation) has primary responsibility for delivering key programs which form the Government’s housing agenda including increasing the supply of social and affordable housing and helping Australians realise homeownership sooner.
Housing Australia is responsible for delivering Australian Government commitments to fund 30,000 new social and affordable dwellings through the Housing Australia Future Fund (Department of Finance 2024), and an additional 10,000 affordable homes through the National Housing Accord (Treasury 2023).
Housing Australia Future Fund
The Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF), a $10 Billion investment fund, was established in November 2023.
The Australian Government established the HAFF to provide a sustainable funding source to increase the supply of social and affordable housing.
The income generated by the HAFF will provide a minimum annual disbursement of $500 million per year, indexed from 2029–30, to support delivery of 20,000 new social and 10,000 new affordable homes over five years and to fund a range of acute housing needs. The disbursements will contribute $324 million to a broader $330 million package over five years to support a range of acute housing needs, including for: veterans, housing in remote First Nations communities, and accommodation for women and children impacted by family and domestic violence.
Affordable Housing Bond Aggregator
The Affordable Housing Bond Aggregator (AHBA) provides low-cost and longer-term loans to registered community housing providers, supporting more social and affordable housing. In the 2024-25 Budget, the Government is increasing the line of credit to Housing Australia by $3 billion, and increasing Housing Australia’s liability cap by $2.5 billion to $10 billion support ongoing delivery of the AHBA program.
In the 2025–26 Budget, the Government increased the cap on the Government’s guarantee of Housing Australia’s liabilities by $16 billion to a total of $26 billion – enabling Housing Australia to support the delivery of more social and affordable housing under the AHBA and the first two rounds of the HAFF and National Housing Accord.
National Housing Infrastructure Facility
The National Housing Infrastructure Facility (NHIF) was originally established as a $1 billion facility that provides finance in the form of grants and concessional loans for eligible critical infrastructure projects that will unlock new housing supply, particularly social and affordable housing.
In 2022, the Government expanded the remit of the NHIF to allow for more flexible use of the available funds to also help directly unlock new social and affordable dwellings and attract more institutional capital to the sector.
In 2024, the NHIF received an additional $1 billion in federal funding ($700 million for grants and $300 million for concessional loans) to support crisis and transitional accommodation for women and children experiencing domestic violence, and for youth experiencing, or at particular risk of, homelessness. For the first 12 months, the full amount will be notionally allocated for projects in each state and territory. After this period, any remaining uncommitted funds will be pooled, supporting competitive applications regardless of location.
Capacity building for the social and affordable housing sector
The Government is providing $2.1 million from 2024–25 to build the capacity of community housing providers and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled housing organisations, assisting these organisations to engage with the Government's housing financing programs and improve their delivery of housing.
Government housing assistance expenditure
In 2023–24, Australian Government funding for the NHHA and related agreements was $1.9 billion (of which $1.7 billion was for the NHHA). An additional $5.5 billion was spent on Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA), an increase from 2022–23 ($5.0 billion). In 2023–24, state and territory net recurrent expenditure on social housing was $5.4 billion, an increase of $0.4 billion from the previous financial year. State and territory government social housing capital (non-recurrent) expenditure was $4.0 billion in 2023–24 (Productivity Commission 2025).
Australian Government Treasury (2023) Landmark housing legislation introduced to Parliament, media release, accessed 24 March 2025.
Australian Government Treasury (2024) Delivering the National Housing Accord, website, accessed 24 March 2025.
ANAO (Australian National Audit Office) (2006) Commonwealth State Housing Agreement Follow-up Audit, website, accessed 24 March 2025.
Department of Finance (2025) Future Fund, Department of Finance website, accessed 24 March 2025.
DSS (Department of Social Services) (2022a) National Housing and Homelessness Agreement, DSS website, accessed 24 March 2025.
Dufty-Jones R (2018) A historical geography of housing crisis in Australia, Australian Geographer, 49(1):5-23.
Groenhart L, Burke T and Ralston L (2014) Thirty Years Of Public Housing Supply And Consumption 1981–2011, AHURI Final Report No. 231, AHURI, Melbourne.
Housing Australia (2024), Housing Australia website, accessed 24 March 2024.
Macintyre S (2015) Australia’s boldest experiment: war and reconstruction in the 1940s, New South Publishing, Sydney.
NHSAC (National Housing Supply and Affordability Council) (2024) National Housing Supply and Affordability Council, NHSAC website, accessed 24 March 2025.
Parliament of Australia (2017) Social housing and homelessness: Budget Review 2017-18 Index, report prepared by M Thomas, Parliament of Australia, Australian Government, accessed 22 February 2022.
Pawson H, Milligan V and Yates J (2020) Housing policy in Australia: a case for system reform, Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore.
Productivity Commission (2025) Report on Government Services 2024: Housing and homelessness (part G), Productivity Commission, Australian Government.
Troy P (2012) Accommodating Australians: Commonwealth Government involvement in housing, Federation Press, Annandale.
Yates J (2013) Evaluating social and affordable housing reform in Australia: lessons to be learned from history, International Journal of Housing Policy, 13(2): 111-133.