Social and Indigenous housing

Social and Defence housing

The Government recognises the important role public and community housing plays in providing safe, secure and affordable housing for Australians and their families.

The Government is investing $6.8 billion for the construction of over 20,000 new social housing dwellings and repairs to around 45,000 dwellings in the existing public housing stock.

The new homes will be owned by public housing authorities and not‑for‑profit housing organisations and rented to people on priority waiting lists. Providing accommodation to people who have been homeless and people on low incomes struggling in the private rental market will be a priority.

The Government has also committed $252 million for Defence Housing Australia to construct 802 new homes for Australian Defence Force personnel and their families. The new housing will be located to support Defence bases across several regions, including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Darwin, the Hunter Valley, Townsville and Ipswich.

Remote Indigenous housing

Adequate housing is an essential building block towards Closing the Gap in Indigenous disadvantage.

The Government is providing $5.5 billion over 10 years, through the Council of Australian Governments Remote Indigenous Housing National Partnership, to address significant overcrowding, homelessness and poor housing conditions in remote Indigenous communities.

Remote Indigenous communities will benefit from the construction of up to 4,200 new houses, significant repairs and maintenance to around 4,800 houses and upgrades to housing‑related infrastructure. The new arrangements will require Indigenous houses to be properly managed and maintained by state and territory housing authorities. Tenants will be required to sign up to and adhere to standard tenancy agreements.

There will be increased local training and employment opportunities in construction and housing management.