Queensland, Feds Strike $2.4bn Deal to Unlock Housing Supply

The funding will target Priority Development Areas including Mount Peter, Southern Thornlands and Waraba, alongside other potential growth corridors across Queensland.

The first homes under the agreement are expected to be completed by mid-2028.

The deal is part of the Federal Government’s commitment to help build 100,000 homes for first home buyers nationally, while also contributing to Queensland’s target of delivering a million homes by 2044.

The Commonwealth said the agreement was part of its $6.3-billion housing-enabling infrastructure agenda that included the $2-billion Local Infrastructure Fund.

Queensland is investing $2.4 billion in housing enabling infrastructure through measures including the Residential Activation Fund and the Land Activation Program.

Federal housing minister Clare O’Neil said the agreement would increase housing affordability by boosting supply.

“We’re investing in the boring but essential infrastructure like roads and sewerage that help us unlock more homes for Queenslanders, because the more homes we build, the more affordable housing becomes,” O’Neil said.

“Thanks to this agreement ... there will be thousands more Queenslanders getting the keys to their own home.”

▲ The funding will target Priority Development Areas including Mount Peter, south of the Cairns CBD.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the funding package was aimed at improving access to home ownership for younger Australians.

“We know it’s too hard for too many Australians to buy their own home and get ahead and that’s why we’re investing in building more homes, making our tax system fairer and putting first home buyers ahead of foreign investors,” Chalmers said.

“Our Budget is about building more homes, helping more Australians realise the dream of homeownership and giving younger Australians a leg up in the housing market.”

Queensland Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie said unlocking land and housing supply remained a priority for the state.

“More homes across Queensland are needed and fast, and a key way the government can play its part is to unlock land and deliver supply, supply, supply,” Bleijie said.

“Availability equals affordability and by providing funding to get the vital infrastructure like roads, water, sewerage and power in place, the builders can get building.”

▲ The fund will unlock infrastructure works at North Harbour in the Moreton Bay region, about halfway between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast.

The Housing Industry Association said the agreement was an important step toward addressing housing affordability through supply-side measures.

HIA managing director Jocelyn Martin said infrastructure bottlenecks continued to delay housing projects and increase costs across the state.

“This announcement recognises that the fastest and most effective way to help first-home buyers is to unlock more housing supply, and that means removing the infrastructure and planning barriers holding projects back,” Martin said.

HIA Queensland executive director Michael Roberts said builders were ready to deliver more homes but continued to face delays tied to infrastructure constraints.

“Targeting Priority Development Areas ... will help bring forward new housing opportunities in key growth regions,” Roberts said.

“Getting the fundamentals right — land, infrastructure and approvals — is the key to improving housing affordability in Queensland.”

CFMG Capital, which said it had invested $100 million in site acquisitions in the Waraba PDA welcomed funding commitment.

It said the “timely delivery of roads, utilities and community infrastructure is essential to ensuring housing supply can keep pace with demand”.