No Hope Without Housing
NSW Pre-Budget Submission 2024-25
New South Wales is facing an unprecedented housing crisis that demands urgent action. There are over 57,000 households on the social housing waitlist. Many will be waiting 10 years or more for a home.
Community housing offers critical, innovative solutions to address the housing crisis. Not-for-profit community housing providers own or manage more than 54,000 homes for people living on very low to moderate incomes in NSW. Since 2012,they have built 5,600 new homes across NSW in communities where they are needed most.
Our Pre-Budget Submission, No Hope Without Housing, shares our solutions for how the NSW Government can invest in a better housing future for NSW, and ensure that everyone has a safe, secure, and affordable place to call home.
Priority 1: A significant investment to address the shortfall in social and affordable housing
- Invest $10.3 billion over the next five years to deliver a long-term pipeline of social and affordable homes. This investment will leverage Federal Government funding and community housing industry capability to deliver up to 25,000 homes for people whose needs will not be met on the open market.
- Strengthen the social housing system by increasing funding for the Community Housing Leasing Program to $112 million per year, incorporating annual indexation in line with changes in market rents.
Priority 2: Deliver on NSW’s climate ambition to improve the lives of the lowest income households
- Drive down energy costs and usage for vulnerable households through an increased investment of $200 million over three years to upgrade ageing social housing properties, including those managed by community housing providers, and assist providers to plan for decarbonisation.
- This funding will supplement the Federal Government’s Household Energy Upgrade Fund.
Priority 3: Reduce homelessness, build stronger communities
- Invest $60 million over three years to create 400 new Together Home packages.
- Break the cycle of homelessness by investing $250 million over three years to deliver 400 social housing properties for people exiting from the program who are assessed as requiring longer-term housing and support
services.
Priority 4: Invest in a planning system that delivers on NSW’s housing ambitions
- Invest $6 million over three years to establish an Affordable Housing Delivery Unit in the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, focusing on prioritising the assessment of proposals for social and affordable housing. This could be achieved through an expansion of the Community Housing Concierge.
- Establish a $10 million program to extend the Regional Housing Strategic Planning Fund, to support all local councils to implement affordable housing contribution schemes and other priority planning measures.