Housing alliance calls for 20-year plan to lift social and affordable supply

A coalition spanning builders, property companies, community housing providers and welfare advocates has called for a 20-year national plan to substantially increase Australia’s stock of social and affordable housing.

The National Affordable Housing Alliance took its proposal to Canberra on Thursday, with the plan receiving further industry coverage on Friday. Its members include National Shelter, the Property Council of Australia, Master Builders Australia, the Housing Industry Association, the Australian Council of Social Service, Homelessness Australia and Australian Community Housing.

That breadth is significant. The organisations do not always agree on tax, planning, rental regulation or government spending, but they have settled on a shared set of supply, funding and accountability proposals.

The alliance says social housing currently represents about 4 per cent of Australia’s housing stock. It wants a pathway to lift social and affordable housing to at least 6 per cent by 2050, with a longer-term aspiration of 10 per cent.

Achieving the 6 per cent threshold would require about 23,000 additional social and affordable homes each year from 2030 to 2050, according to the alliance.

A long plan delivered in shorter stages

The centrepiece is a minimum 20-year National Housing Supply Plan supported by rolling five-year agreements. This would give governments, community housing providers, financiers and builders a sequence of nearer-term targets within a longer national framework.

The alliance argues that long timeframes are necessary because housing capacity cannot be expanded instantly. Providers need land, planning approvals, finance and staff, while the construction sector needs confidence to train workers and maintain delivery pipelines.

Its platform has four main elements:

• A 20-year supply plan with five-year delivery agreements and measurable targets.
• Sustained Commonwealth investment, including retention and continued development of the Housing Australia Future Fund and related programs.
• A nationally consistent definition of affordable housing.
• Independent reporting on supply, unmet need, affordability and government commitments.

The proposal is not a government decision, a funded construction program or a promise that 23,000 homes will immediately enter the pipeline. It is an industry and community-sector request for the Commonwealth to coordinate a larger, more predictable national response.

What would count as affordable housing

The alliance wants affordable housing to be clearly distinguished from broader products marketed to essential workers or middle-income households.

Under its proposed definition, affordable housing would focus on households in the lowest two income quintiles, with housing costs limited to no more than 30 per cent of gross household income.

That definition could influence who qualifies for future homes, how rents are set and how governments measure delivery. A common national standard could also make it easier to compare programs between states, rather than treating every subsidised or discounted dwelling as equivalent.

Key-worker and other below-market rental products could continue, but would be reported separately where they serve different income groups or use different subsidies.

Why certainty matters to the building pipeline

Social and affordable projects often depend on several layers of support. These can include government land, direct capital, concessional finance, operating subsidies, planning incentives and long-term management by a community housing provider.

If those elements are negotiated one funding round at a time, providers and builders can face gaps between projects. Rolling agreements would be intended to create a steadier pipeline and allow organisations to plan land purchases, finance, procurement and staffing earlier.

The alliance is also seeking an independent accountability framework. Its proposed reporting would track not only completed homes but unmet demand, affordability and whether governments are meeting announced commitments.

For households waiting for social housing or seeking a below-market rental, the proposal offers no immediate change to applications, eligibility or waiting times. Its importance lies in the scale and duration of the requested response — and in the unusual level of agreement between organisations representing tenants, vulnerable households, builders and property owners.

The next step rests with governments. Without funding agreements and formal targets, the 6 per cent goal remains an advocacy position rather than a delivery schedule.

What it means for you

• The plan proposes a long-term supply pipeline, not immediate access to a new home.
• Its 6 per cent target would require about 23,000 additional homes a year from 2030 to 2050.
• A national affordability definition could make eligibility and program results easier to compare.
• Renters and applicants should continue using existing state and community housing channels while the proposal is considered.