Housing Affordability Fund
The Housing Affordability Fund is a five year, $512 million investment by the Australian Government that will help to reduce the cost of new homes for home-buyers. The Fund seeks to address two significant barriers to the supply of housing:
holding costs incurred by developers/home purchasers due to lengthy planning/development assessment processes
infrastructure costs such as water, sewerage, roads and open space which are often passed onto developers (and in turn new home buyers) by local and state government
The Fund is administered by the Australian Government’s Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs.
Housing Affordability Programme, Queensland
In 2008, a collaborative proposal from the Council of Mayors (SEQ), the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) and the Queensland Government’s Department of Infrastructure and Planning (DIP) was submitted to the Housing Affordability Fund.
The proposal outlined three key projects aimed at addressing the tools, processes and policies relating to housing affordability in Queensland. These projects are:
Next Generation Planning (NGP)
Sponsored by the Council of Mayors (SEQ), NGP received an allocation of $1.1 million to create standard housing related development policies & codes for SEQ councils.
Target 5 Days (T5)
Sponsored by the Council of Mayors (SEQ), T5 received an allocation of $3.9 million to reform the development application processes within SEQ councils to reduce approval timeframes, including a five day approval timeframe for complying low risk applications.
Electronic Development Assessment (HAF-eDA)
Sponsored by the LGAQ, HAF-eDA received an allocation of $6.47 million to deliver electronic development assessment tools to 19 high growth councils across Queensland.
For more information on the Housing Affordability Programme, click here or contact the team at haf@lgaq.asn.au.
HAF eUpdate Newsletter Stories
May
- More SEQ Councils on target to reduce DA timeframes: Scenic Rim, Sunshine Coast and Toowoomba Councils are the latest to launch their Target 5 Days Application Kits to the public.
- Thinking outside the zone: PIA Queensland, in conjunction with the Council of Mayors (SEQ), HAF
Programme, Growth Management Queensland and the LGAQ, are hosting a one-off planning symposium on Friday 3 June 2011. - Time for Target 5 Days to shine: After months of hard work from the HAF Programme and our participating councils, the Target 5 Days project is about to become the focus of a six month advertising campaign.
April
- Introducing industry to Target 5 Days: Councils have been engaging with their local industry representatives to promote the introduction of the Application Kits for Dual Occupancy and Multiple Unit Developments.
- Phase 2 for Target 5 Days: Participating councils are now moving into Phase 2 of the project which will focus on 'Reconfiguration of a Lot' applications.
March
- Launching Target 5 Days: The Target 5 Days project was officially launched at Roy Harvey House, Brisbane on Wednesday 16 March 2011.
- Spreading the word: March has been a very busy month for the HAF Programme and the councils participating in the Target 5 Days project.
- Taking Target 5 Days to the next level: With work on Phase 1 of the project nearing completion, the tools and processes of Target 5 Days are ready to be applied to other development use types.
February
