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:

Summary of funding for social housing ($ millions) as at 31 December 2025^
State Total allocated Committed but not spent Spent
New South Wales 610.1 227.3 424.7
Victoria 496.5 300.4 196.1
Queensland 398.3 242.5 155.8
Western Australia 209.2 128.4 80.8
South Australia 135.8 90.1 45.7
Tasmania 50.0 47.4 12.9
Northern Territory* 50.0 25.6 22.1
Australian Capital Territory 50.0 26.8 23.2
Total 2,000.0 1,088.5 961.3

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 31 December 2025
State Allocated in implementation plans Committed but not commenced Commenced but not completed Completed
New South Wales 1,500 331 447 781
Victoria 692 to 769 14 476 316
Queensland 600 140 315 177
Western Australia 598 0 321 246
South Australia 230 194 210 37
Tasmania 116 0 118 10
Northern Territory 100 31 26 22
Australian Capital Territory 55 to 65 0 41 17
Total Around 4,000 710 1,954 1,606
Projections of social housing still to be completed by financial year as per the fifth Statements of Assurance
State 2025–26 2026–27 2027–28
New South Wales 462 205 322
Victoria 195 218 247
Queensland 127 264 131
Western Australia 78 136 163
South Australia 100 231 110
Tasmania 17 103 0
Northern Territory 30 32 13
Australian Capital Territory 0 41 0
Total 1,009 1,230 986

First Nations housing

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

As of 31 December 2025, 361 of the 467 dwellings intended for First Nations people and their families are either completed or underway. Two hundred and seventeen of these dwellings have been completed, 106 committed and 144 commenced.