Housing Australia Future Fund

“The structure of the Fund will protect it from the whims of future Governments. The Fund will generate returns over the long term, which will allow it to provide annual disbursements to deliver a secure pipeline of funding for social and affordable housing in Australia.”

Australian Labor Party • Senator • 06 Mar 2023

“Then there's the Housing Australia Future Fund, to deliver more social and affordable housing. There's a $10 billion investment in the fund to deliver 30,000 new social and affordable houses over five years. This is capital investment to create a revenue stream—again, foreign concepts for those opposite and, indeed, the Greens political party—which means it's sustainable. So every year there will be money flowing in, instead of what we have seen for too long, which is lumpy investments and programs that come and go. We need to make it an ordinary part of the business of government to slowly but steadily increase the supply of affordable housing. That's what the bill does. It's desperately needed. There are hundreds of thousands of people on social and affordable and public housing waiting lists across the country. They are crying out for action, and the government has a mandate for this. It was a key election promise of the government, and this bill is implementing that promise that people voted for.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 14 Feb 2023

“I say today to all members of the opposition and the Greens: don't get in the way of the people of the South Coast getting the affordable homes they deserve. Do the right thing and support these bills. Our community cannot afford to wait any longer because of your political games. I commend the bills to the House.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 14 Feb 2023

“From this fund we are firmly committed to delivering 30,000 houses over the first five years, including at least 1,200 in Tasmania, my home state. I remind all senators that the Housing Australia Future Fund is supported by the community housing sector. It's supported by the Housing Industry Association, Master Builders Australia, homelessness services, National Shelter, Homelessness Australia, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Housing Association, the Community Housing Industry Association and the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute. They all want to see these bills passed as a matter of priority. They want to see us get on with the job of delivering this housing. So let us get on with it. Let us pass these bills and get shovels in the ground, and hand over the keys of thousands of new houses to the Australians who so desperately need them. I commend the bills to the Senate.”

Australian Labor Party • Senator • 12 Sept 2023

“Just this week the Albanese government announced a welcome new support for the Housing Australia Future Fund, meaning the housing legislative package is going to pass the Senate this week.”

Australian Labor Party • Senator • 12 Sept 2023

“I will be proudly voting in support of this legislation. I call on those in the coalition opposition, the Greens and the broader crossbench to vote in support of this legislation. Failure to do so would be a massive step backwards for housing security in this country. Stop the politicking. Stop the attempts to delay its implementation. We've waited nine years; we can't waste another day.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 14 Feb 2023

“So, taken altogether, the measures in this bill represent a substantial yet targeted investment in housing for those who are most in need. It provides targeted support for essential workers, those experiencing domestic violence, veterans and remote Indigenous communities.”

Australian Labor Party • Senator • 12 Sept 2023

“Nevertheless, it's a relief to have this legislation on its way to being passed in the parliament. Unfortunately, we cannot solve all the problems Australia's housing market faces overnight, nor can the Labor government undo in one year what has been 10 years of delay and neglect by the coalition government more focused on themselves than on Australia. But what we can do is take the massive $10 billion investment in the form of the Housing Australia Future Fund that will deliver 20,000 new social rentals the first five years plus 10,000 affordable homes and run with it. That will make a difference; that will have an impact. It is for that reason I'm pleased that senators in this place will work with the government on this reform and not stand in the way of delivering a better life for Australians who are homeless or on the brink of homelessness.”

Australian Labor Party • Senator • 12 Sept 2023

“The housing availability and affordability shambles inherited from the coalition desperately needs fixing. It will not happen overnight, but we recognise it must be done. These bills go a long way towards achieving our aim. The Albanese government reforms are much needed and urgent. They deserve our attention and the support of this parliament. They will help our most vulnerable, such as single mothers like Jenny and her children, who deserve to have a place to call home. There is nothing more important. So this bill deserves support from those opposite and a speedy passage through this parliament. I commend the bills to the House.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 14 Feb 2023

“That's a comprehensive package of measures that the Albanese government is bringing to this parliament, to try and overcome the critical issue of housing shortages in this country and ensure that people have a future ahead of them where they will have a roof over their head. Again, I implore members opposite to support this initiative. It may not be everything they want, but it goes a long way to addressing the housing crisis that we currently face. I commend this legislation to the House.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 14 Feb 2023

“So I do commend the bill to the House, and I ask the parliament to vote for it. I ask the whole of the parliament to vote for it, because it is doing the right thing—not the perfect thing but the right thing—by Australians.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 15 Feb 2023

“I hope the Senate will support this bill.”

Australian Labor Party • Senator • 12 Sept 2023

“If we don't make this investment now, if we don't invest in housing, if we don't invest in addressing homelessness, the situation is only going to deteriorate and people in this country are only going to be worse off, and that's not what being in government is about. Being in government, being on this side of the chamber, being in this House, for every member here, is about supporting our communities, our electorates and the country. It's about making sure that we are making good financial and economic decisions, like for the construction of social and affordable housing. It is about making sure we're putting good social policy forward like the Housing Australia Future Fund, which will provide for social and affordable housing that is so desperately needed in this country. People are crying out for housing, and now we—all of us here—finally have the opportunity to make it right. We have the opportunity to invest in an area of need and we have an opportunity to make sure that men, women and children all across the country have a safe place to call home.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 14 Feb 2023

“I'm proud to be part of a government that intends to make a fundamental difference to the people of our nation who are willing to put the time in and who have worked so hard on these reforms. It's about making a difference to housing and putting roofs over people's heads. We have done this in partnership with so many organisations who have advocated for these reforms, investments and policy changes. All of us in the Senate now have an opportunity to back this package—a package that contains what so many experts and housing organisations have called for for a great many years. Together we can reshape Australia's housing policy, setting in place a legacy where the Commonwealth understands its place in working with the states to ensure that every Australian has suitable, affordable housing that provides them a life and a benchmark for dignity.”

Australian Labor Party • Senator • 12 Sept 2023

“The magnitude of the housing crisis is the clarion call to action which successive Liberal-Nationals governments failed to heed. We in the Albanese government are geared for action on this front because a home, as I said in my maiden speech, is like the warmth of a million suns. Let's bring our people out of the shadows and into the light. I commend the bills to the House.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 15 Feb 2023

“I would ask those opposite and those on the crossbench: if you care about the community, about those experiencing homelessness or housing stress, about women escaping domestic violence, about veterans who have served our country, about remote Aboriginal communities, about frontline workers, then vote for the bill. Vote for this bill that will increase supply at the bottom of the market for those groups who most need it. If you support women escaping violence, vote for the bill. If you support veterans experiencing homelessness, vote for the bill. If you support frontline workers, vote for the bill. If you support remote Aboriginal communities, vote for the bill. By your actions you shall be known. Now is not the time to play political pointscoring with people's safety, their futures and their lives. Now is not the time to be negative for negative's sake. Now is not the time to throw away good in the pursuit of an unachievable perfect or to make a political point. People need housing. We have a supply problem. We have an affordability problem. This is the start of addressing that problem. I commend the bills to the House.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 15 Feb 2023

“We need to make sure that we're providing more support not only for veterans who find themselves in these situations but for Australians more broadly. And that is what this bill is all about. It represents the Albanese Labor government's commitment to ensure that this government does all it can to provide that fundamental, basic human right that Australians need and deserve and should expect from government—a reasonably priced roof over their heads for themselves and their families. That is, importantly, what this particular bill will help us build into the future.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 15 Feb 2023

“Even more specifically, in my community in the Blue Mountains and the Hawkesbury, $1 million of this funding, as it starts to be returned—because the fund is created, and it's making returns, and we're able to take out the funds we need—is going to go to my community for additional crisis accommodation. Anyone opposing this is saying to the people of the Blue Mountains and the Hawkesbury, 'You don't deserve what has been committed to you.' I urge those opposite, the Liberals, the Nationals and the Greens: please support this fund. Please do something that may not be perfect in your mind but you know is going to make a significant difference, and help us stop the 10 years of policy drift that this sector has seen that has landed us where we are. This is one really practical step we can take to start to turn things around.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 14 Feb 2023

“These bills are designed to deliver on that responsibility and to deliver on our 2022 election promises. This legislation will set up the Housing Australia Future Fund, a $10 billion fund that will be invested, with the returns to fund social and affordable housing.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 15 Feb 2023

“I ask the opposition to reconsider their position. I ask the Greens political party to work with us and the crossbenchers to invest and implement these critical reforms that are so needed for so many Australians. What are we here for if not to serve them in that capacity, in good faith? Work with us to provide the national leadership to address housing affordability across Australia.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 15 Feb 2023

“We have established the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund. The returns on the fund will build 30,000 new social and affordable homes in the fund's first five years, including 4,000 homes for women and children impacted by domestic violence, or older women at risk of homelessness. In an historic deal, we are working with states, territories and the private sector to build more homes. We have set an ambitious target of one million homes by the end of decade. This is big, nation-building stuff that will transform the lives of so many.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 15 Feb 2023

“The Housing Australia Future Fund Bill 2023 establishes the Housing Australia Future Fund. Distributions from the fund will support the delivery of social and affordable homes, including 30,000 new dwellings over its first five years of operation, as well as helping address acute housing needs for people most at need in our society.”

Australian Labor Party • Senator • 13 Sept 2023

“The passage of the Housing Australia Future Fund Bill will be an incredibly important step forward and a moment for this place to really fight to turn the tide on housing affordability in this country.”

Australian Labor Party • Senator • 12 Sept 2023

“It's clear what the Senate now needs to do, and that is end the delays and support these bills right now.”

Australian Labor Party • Senator • 12 Sept 2023

“We haven't had a federal government that cares about social and affordable housing for a long, long time. Everyone in this place needs to back this bill so that finally we can get that leadership started, because every level of government needs to be involved. There's nothing more important than a safe, affordable place to call home.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 15 Feb 2023

“This is desperate, this is urgent and I encourage all members to rethink this and support our bills. People need to find decent housing. It is an absolute human right to ensure they have dignity and access to housing. I very proudly commend all these bills to the House.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 15 Feb 2023

“So I say to this House that this is a big step forward. This is a good bill, and I congratulate the Minister for Housing and also the Minister for Education, who was the shadow minister for housing and helped design this policy. This policy will help thousands of Australians. This policy that we are debating will mean that literally thousands of women and children are not turned away from domestic violence shelters. This policy means that nurses and other frontline workers, like police and cleaners, will have an affordable home to live in. This policy will get the federal government back into the provision of housing in Australia.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 15 Feb 2023

“I rise to speak today in support of this incredibly important legislation—the Housing Australia Future Fund Bill 2023 and related bills—that will make a huge difference to the lives of Australians. I am incredibly proud to be part of a Labor government who are again delivering on an election commitment central to what we took to the last election, and that was about the importance of housing to the dignity, security, health and prosperity of all people. That is why this was such an important part of the platform we took to the last election and we are delivering on it with urgency in this place.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 15 Feb 2023

“To solve the problem of housing affordability and the shortfall in supply of housing in this country requires action. That is what these bills go to. We are taking responsibility for people in our communities by making sure we have a vision for not just now and the medium term but the long term of this country. I am really pleased and proud to support these bills today.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 15 Feb 2023

“I am delighted to stand here and support these bills, these bills that are going to fundamentally make a difference. Is a gambling? No. We have a range of this type of funding across government that has been running well for many years, thank you very much. All of the scaremongering and the hoo-ha is just a disgrace. This is just political grandstanding. We are standing here with a series of bills and a policy that are going to make a fundamental difference to housing in this country, and that is something we should all get behind. Try to put some of that political spin, and muck and bother, away and think about those people out there tonight who cannot find affordable housing—single parents, key workers, families who are struggling. This is, critically, about the good and the wellbeing of the people of Australia. I commend these bills to this chamber.”

Australian Labor Party • Senator • 12 Sept 2023

“But, when it comes to the lives of northern Tasmanians, now is not the time to let the perfect be the enemy of the good. As the government, you are expected to solve these issues, and I'm not going to get in the way. But supporting you does not get you off the hook if you don't deliver what is promised through this bill. I will act in good faith, but I will be holding you to account to ensure that you have delivered what it is that you have promised.”

Liberal Party • MP • 15 Feb 2023

“So we now have an additional $3 billion of direct funding to go to build social and affordable housing. Of course, $2 billion of that was announced with the Social Housing Accelerator a couple of months back, and then just yesterday a further $1 billion was announced by the Prime Minister as a result of negotiation with the Greens. This is in addition, of course, to the agreement to have a minimum spend of $500 million from the Housing Australia Future Fund, even if the gamble on the stock market doesn't pay off for you that year. What we've really shown is that pressure works. We have secured an additional $3 billion for social and affordable homes, building thousands of homes for low-income renters, and we will now allow the HAFF to pass through the Senate this sitting week.”

Australian Greens • Senator • 12 Sept 2023

“We've also heard evidence at our inquiries into poverty in Australia and in our inquiries into the worsening rental crisis of how housing represents the highest cost in most family budgets. Those with lower housing costs, especially those who own houses outright, can achieve a higher standard of living than people on the same income who have higher housing costs. The more people pay on rent the less they have for other essentials, like food, medication and essential health care. At the poverty inquiry, Isabelle told us:”

Australian Greens • Senator • 12 Sept 2023

“Yes, let's get the bill passed. Let's see $3 billion freed up this year to build a surge of public and affordable housing but then let's commit together as a parliament not to hand over to some cruel market ideology people's homes and the security for their family but invest in public housing with public money, with the wealth that only this parliament can give to a key national crisis.”

Australian Greens • Senator • 12 Sept 2023

“We are here, unashamedly, as the party of renters. We hear their concerns and we are here to give voice to and act on their concerns. We're proud to have delivered what we have through standing up and demanding that Labor be better: an extra $3 billion available immediately to build public and affordable homes in Australia, and turning a $500 million annual disbursement from a maximum to a minimum. But the job isn't over yet, and there's a long, long way to go before renters have real justice in Australia.”

Australian Greens • Senator • 12 Sept 2023

“To all the housing campaigners that are listening to this debate tonight: thank you for your energy, your enthusiasm and your commitment. Together, we took on an intransigent, corporate owned government and extracted $3 billion and vital changes to the program, and we will continue until rents are frozen and affordable. (Time expired)”

Australian Greens • Senator • 12 Sept 2023

“The proposals before us—the HAFF and the $3 billion on the table, resulting from pressure from the Greens—are not enough, but they are an important advance on what we had nine months ago.”

Australian Greens • Senator • 12 Sept 2023

“In finishing, is this legislation perfect? No, it's not. But it's a start, and a start is what we must make. To delay would leave thousands of people languishing. Inaction is the only action that is unacceptable.”

Independent • MP • 14 Feb 2023

“I'm grateful to the boffins at the Grattan Institute who came up with this idea. I'm grateful to Labor for endorsing it as part of their election campaign. I'm grateful to the Greens for finally backing it. It's not where I would have started. But, for where we've ended up, I'm over the moon. This will mean so much for those who need it. I won't delay it a minute longer.”

Jacqui Lambie Network • Senator • 12 Sept 2023

“I welcome this bill and I hope that it does is much good as the minister promises. But, as I said, I do have some concerns, particularly with regard to off-budget spending.”

Independent • MP • 15 Feb 2023

“So I support this bill but I urge the government to guarantee the integrity of the board—it must be independent—and ensure the transparency of funding agreements. Again, after too many programs have been rorted, it is imperative that this be a program that is not rorted. I urge the government to leverage the funding agreements to drive improvements in the quality of housing that we're talking about—housing electrification—and drive mandatory inclusion zoning in developments. There are many more tools to improve access to affordable housing in Australia.”

Independent • MP • 15 Feb 2023

“In the meantime, I commend the government for committing to start to address this fundamental need.”

Independent • MP • 15 Feb 2023

“I support these bills. This can't be the only thing we do. I think we need to work with mum-and-dad investors as well to see whether there's a way that we can have some sort of partnership with those people who want to build individual affordable houses rather than this just being large NGOs who are delivering affordable housing. We have a housing crisis right around Australia. It is felt by families, by older Australians and certainly by young people, who feel that they have been robbed of the Australian dream.”

Centre Alliance • MP • 15 Feb 2023