In the midst of a national housing crisis, the Western Australian government has pledged $875 million towards building thousands of social housing dwellings in the state.
The Social Housing Investment Fund, totalling $750 million will allocate $228 million to short-term projects, with a further $522 million to be used to create homes in the next two years. Additional funds will be utilised to refurbish existing homes and to purchase other properties for social housing. The funding will be confirmed in the state’s upcoming budget.
Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan says the amount of funding directed towards social housing is unprecedented in the state.
“Our $875 million social housing package is the single largest one-off investment in social housing in the State’s history, and it takes the total my Government has committed to social housing over the coming four years to more than $2.1 billion,” he says.
“Our total investment will significantly improve the quality and accessibility of social housing for vulnerable Western Australians and will deliver up to 3,300 social housing properties.”
A total of 3,300 dwellings will be erected with the funding, with 150 properties to be built in regional areas.
The government endeavours to redirect existing funds towards the development of prefabricated, modular homes in order to fast-track delivery and reduce construction demands.
“We need an immediate boost to social housing, but we also need to acknowledge that in the current market, constructing homes will take some time,” says WA Housing Minister John Carey.
“That is why we are investing in programs such as the repurposing of affordable homes to social, spot purchasing properties, and investing in faster and alternative construction methods such as modular homes.
“By holding more than $520 million for future projects, we’re also ensuring there will be a critical pipeline of work for our construction industry when this current housing construction boom ends.”
Image: Community Housing Limited
