Issue - decisions

By Deputy Lord Mayor Councillor Maxwell, seconded by Councillor Arkins –

It is resolved that:

(A)        Council note:

(i)           the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) is a critical national initiative to address Australia’s housing affordability crisis and represents the largest investment in social and affordable housing in a generation;

(ii)         the HAFF provides $10 billion in capital, with a minimum of $500 million in annual disbursements to support the construction of social and affordable housing across the country;

(iii)        the HAFF aims to deliver 20,000 new social homes and 20,000 new affordable homes over the next five years;

(iv)        as of 17 March 2025, over 183 projects are in the pipeline, expected to deliver more than 18,674 social and affordable homes nationwide, including 442 within the City of Sydney;

(v)         the HAFF is vital to tackling homelessness and housing insecurity, particularly in inner-city areas like ours, where housing demand and cost pressures are especially acute;

(vi)        HAFF-funded construction supports jobs and local businesses, and helps address climate goals through energy-efficient, environmentally sustainable housing;

(vii)      the HAFF is especially important for delivering homes for priority groups such as women, older people, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, groups often locked out of the private housing market;

(viii)     the HAFF was strongly opposed by the Coalition and only passed the Senate in 2023 after months of political obstruction. The Opposition has since signalled that it may repeal or cut the HAFF if elected;

(ix)        this threat creates serious policy instability. Even the possibility of repeal has a chilling effect on housing investment, slowing delivery and deterring partners;

(x)         policy uncertainty undermines confidence among community housing providers, construction partners, and potential residents; weakening Australia’s collective ability to respond to the housing crisis at scale; and

(xi)        if Australia is serious about ending housing insecurity, it must treat housing as essential social infrastructure, and provide long-term, bipartisan certainty in its funding and delivery; and

(B)        the Lord Mayor be requested to write to Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, and the Leader of the Australian Greens, expressing the City of Sydney’s strong support for the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF);

(i)           emphasising that the HAFF is essential to the City’s ability to meet its affordable housing targets and address cost-of-living pressures;

(ii)         calling on all federal parties to commit to the long-term future of the HAFF and reject any proposals to repeal, cut, or destabilise the HAFF; and

(iii)        noting that continued political threats to the HAFF, even if not enacted, already risk delaying projects, reducing investor confidence, and making the housing crisis worse.

The motion was carried on the following show of hands –

Aeys (9)          The Chair (the Lord Mayor), Councillors Arkins, Ellsmore, Kok, Maxwell, Miller, Thompson, Weldon and Wilson

Noes (1)          Councillor Gannon*.

Carried.

*Note – Councillor Gannon abstained from voting on this matter. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 10.4 of the Code of Meeting Practice, Councillor Gannon is taken to have voted against the motion.

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