On this page
- Setting national housing targets
- Incentivising states to build more homes
- Building the enabling infrastructure
- Improving planning and zoning
- Encouraging older Australians to downsize
- More university accommodation
- Training more construction workers to build homes
- Establishing the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council
Setting national housing targets
All levels of government need to collaborate with market participants – including investors, and the residential development, building and construction sector, to unlock quality, affordable housing supply over the medium term.
To help tackle these challenges, the Australian Government is bringing these parties together under the National Housing Accord.
The Accord initially set an initial aspirational target of one million new, well-located homes over 5 years from mid-2024. In August 2023, National Cabinet agreed to update this initial target to 1.2 million new homes.
The Australian Government further committed under the Accord to support the delivery of 10,000 new affordable dwellings over 5 years with state and territory governments agreeing to match this commitment. This is a combined total of up to 20,000 affordable homes.
Incentivising states to build more homes
Under the New Homes Bonus, the Australian Government has committed $3 billion for states and territories that achieve more than their share of the initial one million well‑located homes target under the National Housing Accord.
This will incentivise states and territories to undertake the reforms necessary to boost housing supply and increase housing affordability.
Building the enabling infrastructure
The $500 million Housing Support Program is a competitive funding program for state, territory, and local governments to kickstart housing supply in well-located areas.
The program will provide funding to support connecting essential services, amenities to support new housing development, and 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.
Visit Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts’ Housing Support Program
Improving planning and zoning
In August 2023, National Cabinet agreed to a National Planning Reform Blueprint to outline planning, zoning, land release and other measures to improve housing supply and affordability. The Blueprint’s measures include:
- updating state, regional, and local strategic plans to reflect housing supply targets
- promoting medium and high-density housing in well-located areas close to public transport, amenities and employment
- streamlining approval pathways.
Visit Prime Minister of Australia's Meeting of National Cabinet – Working together to deliver better housing outcomes
Encouraging older Australians to downsize
The Australian Government has reduced barriers for older Australians to move from homes that no longer meet their needs, so more homes can be available for younger Australian families.
Under the Downsizer superannuation contribution rules, people aged 55 and older can make a non‑concessional (post‑tax) superannuation contribution of up to $300,000 from the proceeds of selling their home. Existing contribution caps and restrictions do not apply to the downsizer contribution.
Visit Australian Taxation Office’s Downsizer super contributions
Incentivising Pensioners to Downsize provides further benefits to Age Pensioners who free up larger housing stock for younger families by selling their family home. The period of the asset test exemption for principal home sale proceeds has been doubled – to 24 months. In addition, deemed income on the exempt proceeds is calculated using only the lower deeming rate – currently 0.25 per cent.
Visit Services Australia’s Assets test
More university accommodation
To deliver more accommodation for students and to reduce pressure on the private rental market, in the 2024–25 Budget the Australian Government announced it will set limits for how many international students can be enrolled by each university based on factors including how much student accommodation they provide.
The government will require universities to establish new, purpose-built student accommodation should they wish to increase their international student enrolments above their initial allocation. Any new accommodation built will be available to both local and international students.
Training more construction workers to build homes
In the 2024–25 Budget, the government invested $88.8 million to grow the pipeline of construction workers through 20,000 additional fee-free TAFE and pre-apprenticeship places. This is in addition to the more than 355,000 fee-free TAFE places already delivered in 2023, of which 24,200 were in the construction sector.
Visit Department of Employment and Workplace Relation’s Fee‑free Tafe
The Australian Government will also provide $1.8 million to deliver streamlined skills assessments for around 1,900 migrants from comparable countries to work in Australia’s housing construction industry.
Establishing the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council
The National Housing Supply and Affordability Council provides independent, evidence-based expert advice on matters affecting Australia’s housing supply and affordability.
The Council's members come from government, industry, the community sector and academia and bring expertise in many fields.