Page 1173 - Week 04 - Thursday, 21 May 2020

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Housing––affordable rental properties
(Question No 2979)

Ms Le Couteur asked the Minister for Housing and Suburban Development, upon notice, on 3 April 2020:

(1) Given that the ACT Housing Strategy commits to increasing the supply of affordable rental homes, how will the ACT Government ensure that the supply of affordable rental housing (discount to market rent) increases given that many of the existing affordable rental dwellings have been funded through the National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS), with NRAS Incentives for these properties due to end between now and 2026.

(2) What consideration, if any, has been given to measures that would help retain NRAS properties as affordable rental dwellings after the NRAS Incentives have stopped being paid.

(3) Has consideration been given to supply-side interventions, such as expanding the land tax concession scheme, to maintain and increase the supply of affordable rental dwellings.

(4) Has consideration been given to supply-side interventions, such as a Territory-based incentive scheme.

(5) Can the Minister provide information about the ACT Government’s role in relation to using the National Housing Finance and Investment Commission to drive an increase in the supply of affordable rental dwellings in the ACT.

(6) Has the ACT Government conducted any financial modelling or policy development with regard to aggregating finance and either purchasing dwellings for affordable or social rental housing that could be managed by community housing providers; if so, can the Minister provide details.

(7) Has the ACT Government conducted any financial modelling or policy development regarding further transfers of public housing stock to the community housing sector; if so, can the Minister provide details.

Ms Berry: The answer to the member’s question is as follows:

(1) The ACT Government’s commitment to improving access to affordable housing across Canberra is articulated, amongst other goals, in the ACT Housing Strategy (the Strategy). The Strategy responds to Canberra’s local context and unique challenges and is being delivered through collaborative partnerships across the government and non-government sectors. The Strategy represents an integrated approach to policy delivery and recognises the Commonwealth and Territory governments’ mutual interest in establishing a sustainable, diverse and equitable supply of housing for the ACT community.

These shared goals are reflected in the overarching National Housing and Homelessness Agreement for the ACT (NHHA ACT). This bilateral agreement took effect on 1 July 2018 and provides approximately $131 million in Australian Government funding over a five-year period to improve outcomes across the full


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