The Miles Government has put the call out for more new homes in existing urban areas, with Australian-firstfunding to accelerate construction.
Ahead of the Premier’s speech to the Property Council of Australia, Housing Minister Meaghan Scanlon said applications would open on June 10 for the $350 million Incentivising Infill Development Fund.
This fund supports market-ready projects which increase housing density in well located urban areas that are under-utilised or vacant.
By covering known infrastructure costs, this fund will prevent these expenses from being passed on to homebuyers, promoting housing choice and improving affordability.
The fund will play a crucial role in supporting the viability of well-located homes, ensuring that Queensland can provide diverse and affordable housing to meet the needs of our growing population.
This announcement comes as the Miles Governmentalso received 145 EOIs for its recently announced fast-track approval pathway.
These proposals varying in scale from eight homes up to 2,500 homes, hold the potential to significantly increase housing supply in Queensland.
The new State Facilitated Development unit will now assess these proposals to see if they align with state priorities.
Projects that include affordable housing for low to moderate-income households will receive top priority in the new approval pathway.
As stated by the Premier Steven Miles:
“My government’s Homes for Queenslanders plan is about delivering more homes, faster.
“Our nation leading infill development fund will make building homes where we need them even easier.
“It’s designed to encourage bigger builds in urban areas, close to public transport, shops and schools.
“This fund will play a critical role in ensuring we have the homes needed to meet our growing population, and I know it will make a difference.”
As stated by Housing Minister Meaghan Scanlon:
“The Miles Government is slashing red tape and providing incentives to support industry to build more homes, faster.
“This is about density done right and making sure we maximise opportunities on underutilised land with access to existing transport, infrastructure and jobs.
“Meanwhile the LNP have been busy voting against 30,000 social and affordable homes, and now putting up barriers to stop thousands of Queenslanders from buying their own home.”
As stated by Housing Supply Expert Panel member, Natalie Rayment:
“One of the drivers for sprawl in the first place was that land was generally cheaper on the periphery of town, so infrastructure was highly subsidised and those costs were not clearly tied to the cost of a house.
“Now, ongoing maintenance of these developments is becoming a growing burden for all tiers of government.
“But it’s not just a financial cost – sprawling neighbourhoods also impact the climate as well as people’s time, including time spent commuting for work and to access services.
“Add that to the cost of living and reliance on motor vehicles in areas where you are not able to walk to things so easily, the living and environmental costs of urban sprawl really start to add up.”
