Since mid-2017, CHIA has been talking to the Commonwealth Department of Social Services about the impending wind down of the National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS). Athough 198 incentives will expire in 2018, there are still 1,850 incentives still to be delivered so the overall pool of active NRAS dwellings will not actually fall until 2020.…
CHIA has written to Australia’s new Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, and Federal Housing Minister, Sarah Henderson, to congratulate them on their new roles.
We have also requested meetings with both to discuss the development of a comprehensive, long-term national housing strategy to address the challenge of housing affordability.
Read more about Sarah Henderson.
The Community Housing Industry Association has backed the objectives of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Making Sure Foreign Investors Pay Their Fair Share of Tax and Other Measures) Bill 2018. In a submission supporting the amendment, CHIA contends that the main benefit of the housing-related measures in the Bill will be to facilitate institutional investment in…
The National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC) is recruiting a Director Originations who will be responsible for originating transactions that support community housing. The focus of the role will be on deals at the more complex end of the scale, potentially involving funding of infrastructure as well as for housing. Applicants need to have:…
Four jurisdictions have now signed up to the new National Housing and Homelessness Agreement (NHHA) but, despite its early promise, there’s barely a mention of community housing in the four bilaterals so far finalised. The six national housing priorities of the NHHA are social housing, community housing, affordable housing, tenancy reform, supporting home ownership and…
In a new breakthrough, the Investment Mandate (IM) through which the Federal government will guide the activities of the National Housing Finance Investment Corporation (NHFIC) confirms that the NHFIC will be able to borrow up to $1 billion of Commonwealth funds to create a reserve pool from which it can lend to registered CHPs. This…
Last week CHIA participated in an immersive day of briefing for the new National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC) Chair, Brendan Crotty. In a wide-ranging conversation, Peta Winzar and Nicola Lemon (Powerhousing) filled the Chair in on the evolution of the community housing industry, its structure, property development record and its hopes for the NHFIC.…
CHIA has welcomed the appointment of the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC)’s inaugural chair. The Treasurer, Scott Morrison, announced the three-year appointment of Brendan Crotty to the Chair’s role. A director of Brickworks Limited, General Property Trust and Dennis Family Holdings Pty Ltd, Mr Crotty will formally take up the role after Parliament…
The Commonwealth Government’s 2018 Budget has let the momentum slide on affordable housing. While the 2017 Federal Budget laid the foundations for real improvements in affordable housing this year’s budget fails to follow through. This budget focuses on tax reform, infrastructure investments, improving security, and the digital economy. The tax reforms are unlikely to impact…
This year’s Federal Budget shows exactly why Australia needs a National Housing Strategy, according to the Community Housing Industry Association (CHIA). The $110m for five years to continue work on remote housing in the Northern Territory is very welcome, as is the added funding for the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute and the Australian…
Last financial year, the Commonwealth Government spent less than $6 billion on assisting low income renters and over $70 billion on providing housing assistance to property owners. In a country that prides itself on giving everyone a fair go, the balance needs to change, according to a pre-budget submission to the Commonwealth Government by the…
Economist Adam Smith’s ‘invisible hand’ is looking a bit arthritic when it comes to the housing market, according to Professor Duncan McLennan. At a seminar in Sydney this week, Professor McLennan proposed a strong set of economic arguments for government investment in housing to support the traditional arguments of affordable housing as a merit good…
In a submission to the Treasury’s Review of the Australian Charities and Not For Profit Commission (ACNC), the Community Housing Industry Association (CHIA) has rejected a proposed expansion of the ACNC’s remit. The ACNC had recommended that its Act be amended to include promoting the effective use of resources of not-for-profits and accountability to donors,…
New Federal Government legislation which aims to prevent foreign donors from having undue influence in Australian politics will impact on charities including community housing organisations that spend $100,000 a year on political advocacy, CHIA’s Executive Director Peta Winzar has warned. The Electoral Funding and Disclosure Reform Bill is designed to tighten laws on allowable donations…
CHIA Chair Michael Lennon has told the Senate Economics References Committee inquiry into the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement (NHHA) that a national housing strategy is absolutely critical to fix Australia’s social housing shortfall Michael told the Senate inquiry that halting and reversing the decline of social housing stock over the past 15 years would take a…
CHIA has started work on what we want to see in the 2018 Federal Budget to improve housing affordability and we want your ideas. However, time is short, so you’ll need to get them to us fast!
In an unusually early start to the Budget process this year, the Treasurer has asked for Budget submissions to be lodged by mid-December. This means we will need to get your policy proposals by December 1, 2017, so we can finalise our submission by the deadline.
If you have ideas to improve housing affordability for renters or for home buyers, ideas to increase housing supply, or ideas to help people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, then we want to hear them.
We are particularly interested in your proposals for reforming taxes – not just the well-rehearsed suggestions like changes to negative gearing and the Capital Gains Tax, but ideas for the other quirky bits of the tax system that make it difficult to do business, create inconsistent outcomes, or could create big opportunities for change. (For example: enabling developers to claim gift deductibility on their tax if they donate housing stock to charities could encourage developers to increase the amount of affordable housing in developments. Currently, donated stock can’t be regarded as a gift if it has been transferred as a condition of a planning permit that requires the provision of affordable housing.)
So send us your ideas – anything from a couple of sentences to a page is fine. Here are a few questions that will help us pull all the ideas together: What is the problem that needs to be fixed? What are good arguments in support of this proposal? Will it benefit any particular group (for example, older renters, people living in regional areas, Indigenous Australians, first home buyers)? Would it affect many people? How much is it likely to cost or save? Is the wider community likely to support or oppose it?
Email your ideas through to [email protected]