Page 4519 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 26 November 2019
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government has prepared the first annual progress report card on delivery against the strategy, which I have also released today.
The ACT housing strategy reflects the voices of our community. It recognises that a secure home is fundamental to people’s lives and to their wellbeing. It is a road map for housing in the ACT into the next decade, and it acknowledges the unique and complex challenges that exist in the ACT housing market and puts in place strong policy interventions to meet the territory’s diverse and changing needs.
The strategy builds on the 2007 affordable housing action plan, which set a foundation for a long-term commitment to provide housing for all households and income levels. The strategy takes a holistic view of housing and has a focus on affordability, increasing social housing assistance and reducing homelessness. The ACT housing strategy contains five strategic goals to deliver on its vision, and each strategy goal contains a range of objectives and actions to deliver on the goals. In total, the strategy includes 74 actions for the government to progress over the next 10 years.
The government has developed an implementation plan detailing the actions arising in the strategy to track and monitor progress against the housing strategy. This is a living document that will evolve as the government delivers on the strategy and provides a basis for the annual report cards, the first of which is released today. I am happy to report that the government has made good progress in the first 12 months of the strategy. Of the 10 actions identified for delivery in the 2018-19 financial year, all are either underway or complete. Of the six actions identified for delivery in the 2019 calendar year, five are either underway or complete. A further 39 actions, identified in the implementation plan for delivery as part of ongoing or annual commitments, are underway or are complete.
A significant amount of work was undertaken during the strategy’s first year, and I will highlight a few of the key achievements. The first goal of the ACT housing strategy is an “equitable, diverse and sustainable supply of housing for the ACT community”. Key to this is the provision of land and housing development opportunities to meet demand. The 2019-20 indicative land release program provides for the release of land in both urban renewal and greenfield locations. A key action is to dedicate at least 15 per cent of the annual land release target to the provision of community, public and affordable housing. The 2019-20 indicative land release program achieves this objective by dedicating 15 per cent of dwelling sites to affordable, community and public housing.
In 2017, at the housing and homelessness summit, I announced the affordable housing innovation fund. Stage 1 funding supported Community Housing Canberra to develop its affordable rental real estate model, HomeGround. The fund also provided funding towards two co-housing projects. Stage 2 projects, which were recently announced, will support projects which increase the supply of specialist disability accommodation, supportive housing for older women, an affordable rental housing model, the improved use of under-utilised community facilities land, and the development of a home-share model.
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