$65M to Deliver More Social and Affordable Housing in Victoria

The Australian Government’s new affordable housing finance body has provided $65 million in long-term, low-interest funds to Victorian community housing provider Haven Home Safe.

The loan will enable Haven Home Safe to potentially save in the order of $10 million in costs relating to its existing debt and also construct new social and affordable homes.

NHFIC’s finance will directly support the delivery of around 99 new social and affordable dwellings.

The cost savings from NHFIC’s finance also give Haven Home Safe the ability to increase the number of new homes it can provide even further, as well as augmenting critical support services to tenants such as employment readiness, financial and living skills, domestic violence support and transitional housing programs as well as support for older Australians.

NHFIC CEO Nathan Dal Bon said the loan to Haven Home Safe was one of three significant new investments the Corporation was making in Victoria.

“Community housing providers (CHPs) are absolutely critical to ensuring Australians in need have a long-term, safe and secure place to call home,” Mr Dal Bon said.

“Haven Home Safe already provides housing for more than 1,800 Victorians, and with this loan, they will be able to extend that support to even more people in need.

“In less than 18 months of operations we are already supporting CHPs to provide more than 800 new social and affordable homes. This includes the $65m loan to Haven Home Safe that we are announcing today and loans to a further two CHPs in Victoria which we will be announcing imminently.

“Critically, CHPs also offer a level of support and wraparound services to their tenants above and beyond providing an affordable place to live.

“Growing Australia’s CHPs is one of the most effective things we can do to alleviate Australia’s affordable housing challenge and that is exactly what NHFIC has been set up to achieve. We will continue to work with CHPs and state and territory governments as we expand our reach.”

HHS Chair Sue Clarke said the long-term certainty and cost savings NHFIC’s finance provides were critical to building the organisation’s capacity to accelerate and increase the supply of social and affordable housing.

“The NHFIC interest rate is significantly below the rates that we can typically borrow and means we can put more money into building new homes,” Ms Clarke said.

Media contact

Ben Haslem, Wells Haslem Mayhew (for NHFIC) | bhaslem@whmspa.com.au | 0408 887 742