A $150 million Housing Investment Package is set to create around 1000 jobs and stimulate hundreds of millions of dollars of economic activity in Western Australia.
The funding package aims to provide additional homes for people on low income or at risk of homelessness while supporting the local housing construction industry.
It will aim to deliver $125 million for more than 300 new public housing units, $6 million to refurbish 20 regional and 50 metropolitan public housing properties and $19.2 million for 200 additional shared equity homes, delivered in partnership with WA’s low deposit home ownership scheme, Keystart.
It is on top of the $335.8 million already budgeted to be spent on building and refurbishing social and affordable homes over the next two years.
WA Premier Mark McGowan said the package will go a long way to help those in need get into a home.
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“The $150 million boost to our housing construction industry will help create 1000 new jobs and ensure this vital industry in the WA economy continues to grow,” he said.
“It will boost the supply of short and long-term housing options for people experiencing difficulty getting into a home and supports people at risk of homelessness through the availability of more social and affordable housing.
“The Housing Investment Package and the extension to Keystart’s income eligibility changes are all about putting home ownership within the reach of more Western Australians, supporting some of our most vulnerable Western Australians and stimulating the economy.”
WA Housing Minister Peter Tinley said the package offers a much-needed boost to the WA economy, while supporting the residential construction sector.
“The package will provide around 1,000 jobs in the property and home building industries and generate hundreds of millions of dollars in economic activity,” Tinley said.
“This package, designed to improve the responsiveness of the social housing system, will generate significant cost savings to government and the community and produce benefits in financial outcomes and also in the improved quality of life for individuals.
Housing Industry Australia Executive Director Cath Hart welcomed the announcement.
“Over the past year, we’ve heard many stories about businesses and tradies reducing shifts, reconsidering staying in WA or simply hanging up the tools – they have really been holding on, waiting for things to improve,” Hart said.
“Today’s announcements will give confidence to the thousands of hard-working West Australian employees and businesses in the residential construction sector to stay the course, to continue in their trades and to retain their staff.
“This is critically important so that we have sufficiently skilled workers ready and able when WA’s residential construction starts to increase to more sustainable levels in coming years and so that we don’t face skills shortages.”