Building on Australia’s largest public housing investment


Released 13/05/2019

The ACT Government will soon begin a new public housing renewal and growth program which will see $600 million spent on new public housing in Canberra.

In October 2018 the ACT Government made a commitment through the ACT Housing Strategy to invest $100 million into the growth and renewal of the public housing portfolio.

Today, the ACT Government is building on that commitment through the release of the Growing and Renewing Public Housing 2019-24 plan, an action under the ACT Housing Strategy.

The plan outlines how the government will renew 1000 homes and add 200 homes to the public housing stock over 5 years.

The $100 million investment will enable the government to add 200 homes to the portfolio and set in motion the sale and renewal of old public housing properties to generate an expected $500 million that will be reinvested into growing and renewing public housing stock.

Over the ten years to 2024, the ACT Government will have invested more than one billion dollars in public housing and renewed approximately 20 per cent of the public housing portfolio.

This unprecedented investment in public housing demonstrates the ACT Government’s commitment to supporting low income and disadvantaged Canberrans.

Under this plan, the ACT Government will:

  • Demolish approximately 300 older dwellings that no longer meet the needs of tenants but are in locations close to shops, school, transport and services and replace them with approximately 700 new dwellings.
  • Build 360 new dwellings in new suburbs through the Indicative Land Release Program.
  • Purchase 140 homes from the private market to further the salt and pepper approach to housing.
  • Sell roughly 700 older dwellings at the end of their life to generate approximately $500 million to reinvest in new, modern public housing.

To meet the needs of current and future tenants, more adaptable homes will be built for people with a range of abilities and ages, as well as developing more two and four bedroom homes to better suit the changing family size and needs of tenants.

This plan will commence at the start of the 2019-20 year, at the completion of the current Public Housing Renewal Program that has nearly completed the renewal of 1,288 homes.

Through the Growing and Renewing Public Housing 2019-2024 plan, the Government will improve tenant experience, provide more public housing and contribute to building a progressive and inclusive city that supports vibrant local communities.

The Growing and Renewing Public Housing 2019-24 plan is available at www.act.gov.au/homes-housing

- Statement ends -

Yvette Berry, MLA | Media Releases

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