Key figures in the housing, property, and finance sectors will come together to tackle the country’s pressing housing challenges at the ninth Affordable Housing Development & Investment Summit, hosted in Naarm/Melbourne from February 26-28, 2024.
Organised by the Community Housing Industry Association (CHIA), the event provides a platform to share innovative solutions and strategies in social and affordable housing design, investment, place making, and tenancy/asset management.
Among the keynote speakers at the conference are CBUS Chair and former Australian Treasurer, Wayne Swan, Housing Australia CEO Nathan Del Bon, CFMEU National Secretary Zach Smith, and international housing expert Alexandra Notay. A range of experts from the public, private, community and research sector will also speak.
CHIA CEO Wendy Hayhurst said the summit came at a critical juncture. “The scale of Australia’s housing challenge is significant, particularly for households on low and moderate incomes,” Hayhurst noted. “Many Australians on decent incomes now find themselves part of the working poor, due to escalating rents and mortgages.”
A landmark analysis by the City Futures Research Centre, UNSW, of the 2021 census data forecasts that by 2041, almost one million Australian households will face unmet housing needs, underscoring the urgency of the issue.
The summit aims to spotlight a range of topics, including the integration of affordable housing into market Build to Rent schemes, the design of effective emergency accommodation for women experiencing domestic and family violence (DFV), models for institutional investment in social housing, and strategies for making homes climate resilient.
The Commonwealth Government has responded to the housing crisis with several initiatives, including the Housing Australia Future Fund, the National Housing Accord, and the development of a ten-year National Housing and Homelessness Plan. The summit will provide a forum to discuss these and other innovative ideas aimed at addressing Australia’s housing problems.
