- NHFIC becomes Housing Australia, expands role as per Federal Housing Policy.
- Tasked with supporting the delivery of 40,000 more social and affordable homes.
- Organisation's operations remain largely unchanged.
The National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC) will now be known as Housing Australia.
This name change follows the passage and Royal Assent of the Federal Government’s Housing Legislative Package, which included the expansion of the organisation’s duty to facilitate the delivery of the Government’s Housing Policy agenda.
Housing Australia will remain a corporate Commonwealth entity overseen by an independent board. It will continue to administer the Home Guarantee Scheme, Affordable Housing Bond Aggregator, and the National Housing Infrastructure Facility, slated to receive a further $1 billion investment from the Federal Government.
The organisation will also support the delivery of 40,000 social and affordable homes under the new Housing Australia Future Fund and National Housing Accord.
Since being established in 2018, the agency’s programs have supported over 17,800 new and existing social and affordable homes, with the loans provided to 38 community housing providers (CHP) adding up to over $3.4 billion through the bond aggregator.
Additionally, it has expedited housing through its infrastructure facility and helped over 114,000 Australians acquire homes.
What does Housing Australia do?
Housing Australia aims to improve housing outcomes by assisting more Australians in gaining access to affordable, safe, and secure housing.
Initially formed in 2018 as the NHFIC, Housing Australia is a corporate Commonwealth entity that delivers long-term, low-cost finance and capability-building assistance to registered CHPs to aid the provisioning of more social and affordable housing.
The entity lends, invests, and supplies grants to help finance the infrastructure and social and affordable housing to boost the housing supply. It accomplishes this through the Affordable Housing Bond Aggregator (AHBA) and National Housing Infrastructure Facility (NHIF).
As part of the recently passed Federal Government’s Housing Legislative Package, Housing Australia will undertake additional responsibilities to support delivery of more social and affordable homes for Australians in need, under the new Housing Australia Future Fund.
It will also assist in delivering more affordable homes under the National Housing Accord.
Housing Australia also helps eligible home buyers purchase homes quickly through the Home Guarantee Scheme. The execution of these housing programs is supported by Housing Australia’s research, data, and analytics capabilities.
