It’s no secret that Queensland is a highly sought-after state to live in, with tens of thousands of people moving to the Sunshine State over the past few years.
This population growth, coupled with national housing pressures, has put the Queensland housing system under strain. Queensland doesn’t just require more housing – it needs different housing types to suit evolving households, lifestyles and communities over the decades to come.
To help overcome these challenges, the Queensland Government has introduced the Homes for Queenslanders plan, as their vision for a fair and sustainable housing system that provides better housing outcomes for current and future generations of Queenslanders.
What is Homes for Queenslanders?
Homes for Queenslanders is a housing plan introduced by the Queensland Government that aims to fast-track one million new homes by 2046, including 53,500 new social homes.
The homes will be delivered in areas where Queenslanders want to live and work, as well as building the types of homes that meet the needs of the diverse current and future population of the State.
The initiatives under the Homes for Queenslanders plan are grouped under the following key pillars:
- Build more homes, faster
- Support Queensland renters
- Help first homeowners into the market
- Boost social housing Big Build
- Work towards ending homelessness
To ensure the objectives of the plan are met, the Queensland Government has recently introduced several initiatives to help improve the existing housing system, including reviewing legislation and introducing a $350 million fund to support the delivery of new housing.
The Housing Availability and Affordability Bill
The Housing Availability and Affordability (Planning and Other Legislation Amendment) Bill 2023 was passed through state parliament in April 2024, providing a legislative framework to support the housing efforts.
According to the Queensland Government, the Bill builds on the existing planning framework and aims to resolve key challenges in the delivery of housing and land supply by:
- Providing the opportunity for the Planning Minister to acquire land or create easements for planning purposes, to deliver critical infrastructure to support development.
- Cutting planning barriers to support the delivery of diverse and affordable housing.
- Supporting growth by ensuring development is approved in the right areas at the right time where detailed land use and infrastructure planning has occurred.
The Bill will assist with more homes being built faster through the new State Facilitated Development pathway, by fast-tracking the assessment of development applications for infill diverse and affordable housing developments.
The Incentivising Infill Development Fund
The $350 million Incentivising Infill Development Fund aims to support the fast delivery of residential development that can increase housing density and diversity in well-located infill areas.
The fund will cover eligible components of council infrastructure charges to help limit the potential for increased costs to be passed on to homebuyers.
According to the Fund Guidelines, projects that meet the following criteria will be given priority access to the fund:
- Demonstrate that they are development-ready and will translate to homes on the ground within the specified period; and/or
- Deliver affordable housing; and/or
- Include or support gentle density housing.
Applications for the fund opened on 10 June 2024 and will be assessed on a first-in basis until the fund limit has been reached. Visit the Queensland Government’s application portal for more information on how to apply.
How can Barker Ryan Stewart assist?
For further information on how the initiatives under the Homes for Queenslanders plan may benefit your current or future development, please don’t hesitate to contact our QLD Planning Manager, Nicole Webb at nicolew@brs.com.au or on 07 5582 6555.
