The $1 billion pot of money sitting ready to be spent on social housing could shift more than 4000 young people out of homelessness, new research shows. Source: The Australian.
The study says 2090 new affordable homes could be built for young people at risk of homelessness with the funds allocated last year to the National Housing Infrastructure Facility (NHIF), as part of a broader deal between the Albanese Government and the Greens to get its $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund legislated.
But it would still fall well short of demand, with almost 38,000 children and young people seeking assistance from homelessness services last year.
University of Sydney professor Laurence Troy did modelling for the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute to determine the possible supply from the NHIF money of two-bedroom dwellings, 60 per cent in Melbourne’s inner-east and 40 per cent on the NSW mid-north coast. If tenants paid rent to a maximum of 25 per cent of their income, plus the Commonwealth Rent Assistance they might be entitled to, the $1 billion could build 2090 dwellings, he said.
Community housing and homelessness groups called on the Albanese Government to get cracking on new projects to put more at-risk young people into stable accommodation.
“Our system for supporting young people experiencing homelessness is fundamentally broken,” Community Housing Industry Association chief executive Wendy Hayhurst said. “But with $ 1billion ready to be deployed we can almost immediately start turning sods and building the homes young people need. Community Housing providers are ready to help, we just need the political and financial commitment.”
The Government wants to build 30,000 new homes over the next five years through the Housing Australia Future Fund
FULL STORY
Use $1bn fund to kickstart social housing for young people (By Stephen Lunn, The Australian)
