Thousands of homes to be delivered through Qld’s record investment in social and affordable housing

The Palaszczuk Government is forging ahead with plans to deliver more than 7000 new social and affordable homes for Queenslanders over the next four years.

The Premier today announced the government had released Expressions of Interest for the Queensland Housing Investment Growth Initiative (QHIGI).

The Palaszczuk Government is investing $2.9 billion, including $1 billion to establish a Housing Investment Fund, to support better long-term housing outcomes for vulnerable Queenslanders.

“Every Queenslander deserves to have a roof over their head,” the Premier said.

“We’re investing more in social housing than any government in our state’s history to create jobs and give Queenslanders a place to live when they need it most.

“We know that more infrastructure means more jobs.

“Partnering with the private sector to deliver new infrastructure in Queensland is an important part of our Economic Recovery Plan.

“We’ll continue to invest in new projects to create jobs and build back better here in Queensland.”

Treasurer and Minister for Trade and Investment Cameron Dick urged the property and housing sectors to come forward with projects to increase social housing and affordable housing across Queensland.

“All Queenslanders need the solid foundation of a safe, secure, affordable home to enable them to participate in our community and build a future for themselves and their families,” the Treasurer said.

“I’m calling on the property sector, institutional investors, and local governments to team up with the community housing sector and bring forward new ideas.

“Our Housing Investment Fund is targeting delivery of 3600 new social homes and additional affordable homes in four years, as part of the Queensland Housing Investment Growth Initiative.

“Leveraging co-investment and partnerships with the private sector through the $40 million in annual returns from the fund will unlock more opportunities for Queenslanders to access safe, secure housing.

“We’re looking for proposals that go beyond just providing shelter – we’re looking for solutions that deliver new or redeveloped accommodation with access to health, education and employment services for vulnerable Queenslanders.

“Continued investment in economic and social infrastructure is key to driving economic recovery, resilience and future prosperity for Queensland.

“The Housing Investment Fund builds on our recent success in leveraging private sector co-investment to deliver more affordable housing for Queenslanders through our successful Build-to-Rent pilot program.”

Minister for Communities and Housing Leeanne Enoch said the release of the Housing Investment Fund EOI was just one component of the Queensland Housing Investment Growth Initiative, a coordinated capital investment program to increase the social housing portfolio by more than 7000 new homes over four years.

“The Queensland Housing Investment Growth Initiative is an important element of our Housing and Homelessness Action Plan 2021-2025 and is backed by $2.9 billion – the largest concentrated investment in social housing in Queensland’s history.

“We’re also providing QuickStart Grants to community housing providers to accelerate construction of 2765 social homes, while the Help to Home initiative will provide 1,000 additional private rental outcomes to support emergent housing needs over the next two years,” Minister Enoch said.

“The Expression of Interest process will enable submissions for all three QHIGI initiatives and is designed to streamline applications and reduce the time and cost for proponents to submit their proposals.

“We want to hear from businesses and organisations with big ideas for social and affordable housing.

“The Palaszczuk Government has already commenced 2779 social homes and more than 690 affordable homes since the release of our 10 Year Strategy and the release of this EOI will accelerate our efforts to house more vulnerable Queenslanders sooner.”

Interested proponents are invited to register on the QHIGI portal and download the expression of interest (EOI) form at qld.gov.au/HousingInvestment.

ENDS

Media contact: Jack Harbour 0419 620 447