Housing Australia is the independent national housing agency. We work with the private sector, community housing providers and all levels of Government to facilitate and deliver programs that help more Australians to access social and affordable housing or to buy a home.
Financing more social and affordable housing
Our expertise is bringing social and affordable housing projects to life by facilitating financing structures that provide project certainty for investors, governments and community housing providers.
The majority of our involvement is at the start of these housing projects – bringing community housing providers, investors, governments, developers and construction companies together to secure suitable funding for eligible projects and make more housing stock available. We then work with the project owner – typically community housing providers or State governments – to monitor timing, budget and project delivery so more Australians have more homes to live in.
Enabling a sustainable community housing sector
Through the finance we facilitate and the provision of capacity building grants, we strengthen the financial and management capabilities of the community housing sector, enabling the long term self- sustainability of these critical organisations.
Our programs also help establish the viability of social and affordable housing as an investment asset class.
Supported home ownership
The Australian Government’s 5% Deposit Scheme, administered by Housing Australia, helps eligible home buyers enter the property market sooner. Working with Participating Lenders, Housing Australia facilitates home loans for buyers who have saved a small deposit and meet other eligibility criteria.
Typically, a 20% deposit is required to avoid paying Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI). However, under this Scheme, Housing Australia provides a guarantee to the lender, allowing eligible buyers to purchase a home with as little as a 5% deposit - or just 2% for eligible single parents and legal guardians - without the need for LMI.
Housing Australia's Strategic objectives
To help deliver on its purpose, Housing Australia set five strategic objectives focused on building the business and continuing to embed best-practice systems, processes and governance practices into operations.
The strategic objectives are to:
- facilitate the sustainable growth of the community housing sector across Australia
- facilitate investment to increase the supply of social and affordable housing
- strengthen stakeholder relationships that support better housing outcomes
- deliver high-performance organisation practices and outcomes
- establish a best-practice governance regime.
Housing Australia’s strategic objectives reflect that the organisation is maturing and progressing from a build phase of operations to an innovation and growth phase. Housing Australia is well positioned for continued success as the business adapts to the needs of its clients and the changing operating environment.
Read more about our strategy in the latest Housing Australia Corporate Plan.