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Budget 2022-23
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HISTORIC SOCIAL AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROGRAM FOR TASMANIANS

Guy Barnett MP, Minister for State Development, Construction and Housing

All Tasmanians deserve a roof over their head and that’s why the Tasmanian Government is delivering the most ambitious and comprehensive social and affordable housing program in the State’s history.

We are taking unprecedented action to assist more Tasmanians into homes and to play our part to address rental pressures.

While our economy and housing markets are strong, we also know that many Tasmanians are still doing it very tough and there is more work to do.

That’s why the 2022-23 Budget and forward estimates provide a record $538 million into social and affordable housing and homelessness initiatives, with $204 million this year alone.

We will build 1,169 homes this year, meeting our target of 1,500 by June 2023 and rising to a total of 10,000 new homes by 2032 as part of our 10-year $1.5 billion housing package.

A cornerstone of the Government’s plan is the establishment of Tasmania’s new Housing Authority, which will be tasked with building and acquiring these homes.  Legislation to establish this Authority is well underway and due to be considered by State Parliament in time for the Authority’s commencement in October.

No stone will go unturned in ensuring the Authority is able to achieve its objective – which is providing more housing for Tasmanians than ever before.

To further accelerate the availability of land supply for new housing, the 2022-23 Budget provides for the extension of our ‘Headworks Holiday’ Program, doubling the Residential Land Rebate from $15 million to $30 million.

More than 1062 lots state-wide have now been approved under the Headworks Holiday Program, with another 116 currently being assessed.

We are also boosting our housing supply through ancillary dwellings grants, residential land rebates and increasing land supply.

These grants incentivise currently underused land and buildings to be converted into homes through private sector investment.

The Tasmanian Government is scaling up other housing assistance programs to help ease market pressure including:

  • Boosting the First Home Owner Grant and introducing HomeBuilder Grants;
  • Investing $15 million in a ‘Headworks Holiday’ for new residential subdivisions to unlock new land supply;
  • Providing $9.25 million over three years to expand the Private Rental Incentives program;
  • Providing $2.5 million to increase housing supply with the Ancillary Dwelling Grant Program;
  • Introducing land tax and stamp duty reforms to enable more affordable homes to be developed;
  • Investing additional funding into HomeShare (Housing Market Entry Program) to support Tasmanians to buy their own home, and
  • Investing in comprehensive reviews of Tasmania’s three regional land use strategies.

Homelessness and affordable and social housing are complex community issues, which is why we are developing a comprehensive Tasmanian Housing Strategy that will bring together experts in Government, community, business and construction to provide advice on how to maximise influence over our housing market levers.

As of 31 March 2022, Tasmania’s Affordable Housing Strategy has delivered a total of 2,092 new homes, lots of land and new units of supported and homeless accommodation. This includes 1,340 new long-term homes, with 334 of these homes built in the past year.

A further 1,169 long-term homes and short-term homeless accommodation units are currently in the pipeline of works, with more new projects to be added to the pipeline in coming months.

We remain on track to meet all targets set under the Affordable Housing Action Plan 2019-2023.

The Tasmanian Liberal Government will not lose sight of the fact that our priority must be about getting Tasmanians and Tasmanian families into homes and to achieve this we are delivering a responsive and multi-faceted housing strategy.