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Social Housing Accelerator

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Background

On 17 June 2023, the Commonwealth announced a new $2 billion Social Housing Accelerator Payment to provide thousands of new and refurbished social homes across Australia.

The funds were delivered to the states and territories in June 2023 so they could start building new homes immediately.

This investment will permanently increase the nation’s stock of social housing. Around 4,000 new, refurbished and acquired homes are expected for Australians on social housing waiting lists.

States and territories must meet strict reporting and assurance requirements. Jurisdictions must show that the projects are additional to business as usual and permanently increase the supply of social housing.

This includes providing implementation plans and 6‑monthly progress reports called Statements of Assurance.

More information is available in the Federation Funding Agreement Schedule.

Implementation plans

State and territory implementation plans outline how the states and territories will spend their share of the Social Housing Accelerator funds:

States and territories may update their plans over time, including to provide additional information on projects when it is no longer commercially sensitive.

Statements of Assurance

All states and territories must provide 6‑monthly Statements of Assurance to the Commonwealth from early 2024 to 2028. These reports detail the new social housing funded by the Social Housing Accelerator in the previous 6 months and over the life of the program.

More information on the reporting requirements is available in the Federation Funding Agreement Schedule.

States and territories must report on:

  • funding committed and spent
  • the number of dwellings committed, commenced and completed.

These terms are defined as:

  • Committed: When a significant component of the project has been formally contracted.
  • Commenced: When the head contractor has site possession and can begin material work on the site.
  • Completed: When the head contractor has reached practical completion of the work and the site can be tenanted.
  • Spent: When the funds have been paid to the head contractor.

The Statements of Assurance must be approved by at least a Deputy Secretary equivalent in the respective state or territory agency. The signed 6-monthly progress reports are:

  • 1 July 2023 to 31 December 2023, Statements of Assurance [PDF 3.1 MB]
  • 1 January 2024 to 30 June 2024, Statements of Assurance [PDF 7.9 MB]
  • 1 July 2024 to 31 December 2024, Statements of Assurance [PDF 12.4 MB]
  • 1 January 2025 to 30 June 2025, Statements of Assurance [PDF 47.4 MB]
Summary of funding for social housing ($ millions) as at 30 June 2025^
State Total allocated Committed but not spent Spent
New South Wales 610.1 329.6 311.2
Victoria 496.5 380.3 116.2
Queensland 398.3 343.0 93.2
Western Australia 209.2 155.1 54.1
South Australia 135.8 123.2 12.6
Tasmania 50.0 55.5 4.7
Northern Territory* 50.0 33.9 13.8
Australian Capital Territory 50.0 38.2 11.8
Total 2,000.0 1,458.8 617.6

Notes:

Totals may not sum correctly due to rounding

^ Amounts may include additional state contributions or funding from other sources.

* Northern Territory is finalising the scope for remaining funds ($2.2 million).

Summary of social housing delivered (Number of dwellings) as at 30 June 2025
State Allocated in implementation plans Committed but not commenced Commenced but not completed Completed
New South Wales 1,500 425 544 580
Victoria 692 to 769 163 488 146
Queensland 600 415 107 110
Western Australia 598 95 280 192
South Australia 230 301 140 0
Tasmania 116 42 78 8
Northern Territory 100 46 29 4
Australian Capital Territory 55 to 65 41 0 17
Total Around 4,000 1,528 1,666 1,057
Projections of social housing still to be completed by financial year as per the fourth Statements of Assurance
State 2025–26 2026–27 2027–28
New South Wales 513 to 529 180 to 196 260
Victoria 163 218 270
Queensland 130 299 93
Western Australia 157 133 85
South Australia 62 289 90
Tasmania 17 103 0
Northern Territory 41 9 25
Australian Capital Territory 0 41 0
Total Around 1,099 Around 1,288 823

First Nations housing

First Nations housing was identified as a priority area by all states and territories in their implementation plans.

The Commonwealth has been working closely with the states and territories to ensure suitable dwellings are being built, refurbished or acquired.

As of 30 June 2025, 292 dwellings of the 427 dwellings intended for First Nations people and their families are either completed or underway. One hundred and eighty-one of these dwellings have been completed, 135 committed and 111 commenced.