This strategy sets out a 10 year housing plan to guide the ACT Government's commitment to put housing first. It covers social housing, homelessness, affordable rental and ownership, and land supply across the Australian Capital Territory.
Source document6
Commitment groups
61
Commitments
2/10
Avg score (1 indicators)
An equitable, diverse and sustainable supply of housing
Provide land, opportunities for housing development, provide housing choice and enable high quality housing that meets the needs of residents.
Land release program
A land release and urban renewal program that enables housing diversity, affordable choices and stimulates urban renewal aligned with key infrastructure.
15% of the Indicative Annual Land Release Program dedicated to public, community and affordable home purchase homes
2,550 dwelling sites released for public, community and affordable housing from 2019/20 onwards.
17,000 development sites released by October 2022
The land release is key to delivering affordable choices and activating urban renewal.
Maintain a 4 year pipeline to support supply
Allow consistent supply of new development opportunities.
Support delivery of more diverse housing types and choices in urban and greenfield projects
Consider recommendations made in 2018 Housing Choices Collaboration Hub and directions from Planning Strategy refresh.
Housing design and delivery showcase
Test future policy development using real projects to showcase best practice in social and affordable housing, emphasising design quality, carbon neutrality and innovation.
Investigate alternative occupancy models
Research alternative ownership and occupancy models including cooperative housing and community titles.
Establish a National Capital Design Review Panel
Provide independent advice to the ACT and Australian governments on the design quality of significant development proposals.
Test planning provisions on the City and Gateway urban renewal precinct plan
Focus on facilitating the delivery of diverse and affordable housing.
Investigate a voluntary universal design rating system for dwellings in the ACT
Address energy costs, universal design and accessibility standards.
Reduce homelessness
Strengthen homelessness sector, provide more crisis accommodation, improve pathways out of crisis and improved coordination.
Sector partnerships
Co-design new policies and programs to reflect lived experience.
Test ideas
Iteratively test ideas and respond to feedback.
Prioritise young people
Strengthen response to women and children experiencing family and domestic violence
Continue partnership with Coordinator General for Family Safety.
Programs tailored to cultural needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
Tailored public and community housing programs.
Housing first
Implement a model that provides housing first.
Target emerging groups at risk of homelessness
Design and implement specific programs, including for older women, asylum seekers and refugees.
Pathways out
Transitional support for moving out of crisis accommodation.
Common Ground
Continue support for the model which provides dedicated housing support for chronically homeless people under a housing first principle.
Sector development
Support the sector in developing organisational governance and workforce capability with training programs and assessment and referral frameworks.
Integrated services
Connect vital services for people seeking support for homelessness, including for those exiting care and custody.
Social housing assistance
Deliver more social housing stock.
Well-located, good-quality social housing
Plan to grow and renew public housing and make public, measurable targets for this growth.
Holistic model of social housing
Develop a client-centred social housing model.
Salt and Pepper Social Housing
Support social housing across all areas of Canberra.
Build housing that meets demand
Provide social housing options that are suitable for diverse needs, including the elderly, disabled and indigenous populations.
Provide a second site of the Mura Gunya housing community
$4.4 million was committed in 2018/19 for this project.
Purpose built housing
Design and deliver purpose built housing that adapts to the needs of elderly and disabled people.
Renew public housing
Modern designs that maximise energy efficiency and reduced maintenance costs.
Enhance the indigenous community housing sector
Work with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body to expand culturally appropriate housing options and enhance sector capacity.
Tenancy service
Greater choice for social housing tenants.
Modern Social Landlord Framework
Set industry standards for social housing tenants.
Modern digital services
Digital services to complement non-digital services.
Increase affordable rental housing
Increase rental housing stock in the community and private rental sectors and improve the equity and efficiency of that stock.
Affordable Rental Real Estate Management model
Manage properties on behalf of private landlords at below market rent, including financial incentives for landlords.
Set annual target for community housing supply of affordable rental property
Increase rental properties managed by community housing providers.
Land tax concessions
Tax concessions for private owners who rent properties at 75% discount to market rent.
Based in law and legal standards
As of 1 May 2025, 248 properties are registered under this tax concession program.
Reduce the cost of land for community housing
Restrictions on Crown leases, land rent or sale at a discount to market rate.
Incentivise new affordable housing on private land
Investigate incentives to utilise private land for affordable housing supply, including through lease variation charge remissions or planning controls.
Develop community rental housing on under-utilised leased community facility land
Develop more affordable rental properties
Work with community housing providers to deliver more rental properties.
Build to rent
Release development sites for built-to-rent development.
Support indigenous community housing
Streamline interest free rental bond
Make it easier to access.
Rent land to community housing providers
Explore opportunities to extend land rent to community housing providers.
Establish or expand home sharing model
Pilot program to match tenants with home owners who will share their homes (based on HomeShare Australia and New Zealand Alliance models).
Strengthen tenant protections
Promote model landlord behaviour in terms of setting rent, allowing pets, minor changes, fair rent increases, hardship considerations and housing security.
Communications
Promote existing support measures that are available to landlords and tenants.
Domestic violence and disability tailored projects
Seed funding for a project that responds to the needs of these groups.
Priority categories for at-risk groups
Establish priorities for access to community housing, affordable home purchase and affordable rentals.
Domestic violence
Dedicated accommodation for those escaping domestic violence.
Specialist disability accommodation
Support specialist disability accommodation.
Affordable ownership
Increase supply of affordable homes for purchase.
Set annual targets for increased home purchase opportunities
Protect affordable tenure type
Add affordable housing tenure type to property title records.
Affordable home purchase price thresholds
New thresholds linked to bedroom quantity (rather than floor space).
First home super saver scheme
Raise awareness.
Indigenous finance
Promote Indigenous Business Australia house financing.
Private incentives
Investigate financial incentives to encourage private property owners to deliver affordable homes.
Shared equity
Pilot shared equity programs in partnership with community housing providers.
Rent to buy
Investigate feasibility of alternative models.
Further commitments
Implementation Plan
Develop a plan to deliver the strategy.
Homes and Housing Website
A centralised place for services.
Accountability
Review, report and continue work on data improvement and data sharing as part of the National Housing and Homelessness Plan.
Accountability and monitoring
It is concerning that forward looking estimates are expressed with quantities and units while actual performance in prior periods is described in vague terms. The line items in the Implementation Plan do not include all of the commitments described in the strategy.