2021-12-13 GC Agenda - Item 8 -Attachment 1 - Housing Needs Assessment

objectives and warrants public investment.65 Charging development contributions towards such
infrastructure, through an infrastructure agreement might be an option to investigate.
The 2021-22 Queensland budget identifies $38.5 million for Social housing expansion and
improvement on the Sunshine Coast. Clearly most of this will occur in priority development areas
such as Maroochydore or greenfield estates where the scale of development makes it easier to
achieve. However continuing pressure should be applied to ensure the State advances opportunities
in Noosa Shire.
Council could pursue partnering with a Community Housing Provider in a submission to the
Queensland Housing Investment Growth Initiative: Housing Investment Fund for a share $1 billion
in subsidies and one off capital grants. Proponents must commit to providing long-term (e.g. 20
years), quality social housing for people who face housing insecurity, including people at risk of
experiencing homelessness, women and children escaping domestic violence, First Nations people,
single older women, families, young people, seniors and people with disability. Proposed housing
solutions must reach commencement by June 2025.
This would require putting forward well located Council land, close to services and amenities to be
developed with a significant proportion of social housing and potentially further affordable housing.
A larger site, such as one in Cooroy may be ideal. Lodging a formal EOI is the first step in the process
and should be done at the earliest opportunity.
The National Housing Infrastructure Facility (NHIF) is a $1 billion Commonwealth facility that
provides finance for eligible infrastructure projects that will facilitate new housing supply, particularly
affordable housing. The NHIF offers concessional loans, grants and equity finance to help support
critical housing-enabling infrastructure. Given new housing is likely to be through infill and there is a
shortage of suitable outlying properties in Noosa Shire, it’s not certain how relevant this funding
stream would be. To be eligible for financing, an applicant must demonstrate that without NHFIC
financing its project would be unlikely to proceed, or likely to proceed only at a much later date or
with a lesser impact on new affordable housing.
The Affordable Housing Bond Aggregator (AHBA) provides low cost, long-term loans to registered
community housing providers (CHPs) to support the provision of more social and affordable housing.
This might be of relevance if Council were to partner with a registered community housing provider
to deliver housing on Council owned land.




65 Lawson, J., Denham, T., Dodson, D., Flanagan, K., Jacobs, K., Martin, C., Van den Nouwelant, R., Pawson,

H. and Troy, L. (2019) Social housing as infrastructure: rationale, prioritisation and investment pathway, AHURI
Final Report No. 315, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute Limited, Melbourne.


Noosa Housing Needs Assessment 2021                                                                   Page 131