The State Government hopes to streamline the housing system to get more roofs over heads. Image: Queensland Department of Housing and Public Works.
The Crisafulli Government in Queensland hopes to deliver homes for tens of thousands of people in the state by investing another $500 million to unlock residential land.
As part of the government’s $2 billion Residential Activation Fund, landowners and councils can apply for a share of the $500 million to fast-track the construction of new homes.
The fund has already unlocked land for about 98,000 more homes around the state, with a mixture of planning and construction projects.
A key component of the Residential Activation Fund is ensuring that essential infrastructure, such as roads, energy, water and sewerage, is in place to support growing communities.
“More homes across the state are needed and fast, and a key way we can play our part is to unlock land and break down barriers that have been holding back councils and the industry,” Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning Jarrod Bleijie said.
“The Residential Activation Fund is literally making inroads, by providing funding to get the foundations right and generational infrastructure like roads, water, sewerage and power in place so builders can get building and more Queenslanders have a place to call home.”
The initiative is part of the Queensland Government’s Securing Our Housing Foundations Plan, which aims to deliver one million new homes by 2044.
Mr Bleijie visited Chambers Flat, where $135 million from round one of the Residential Activation Fund enabled the start of work to build 20,000 new homes.
Benefits are also being spread to regional areas, with half of the allocated funding earmarked for projects outside South-East Queensland.
Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) CEO Alison Smith encouraged councils to reap the benefits of the state funding.
“Councils are playing their part to increase housing supply through zonings and approvals, but infrastructure is often the missing ingredient,” Ms Smith said.
“Councils had called for enabling infrastructure funding, and the creation of this Residential Activation Fund is helping to meet council needs.
”Round one has already proven to be a game-changer that is helping councils to tackle this infrastructure ‘gap’ and we applaud the State Government for this initiative.”
