Affordable housing

We’re working to get more Australians into safe and appropriate homes.

We have a target to lend at least $6 billion by 2029 to help more Australians access affordable and specialist housing. We’ve provided $4.4 billion towards this ambition since 1 October 2022, with a total of $2.1 billion in 2024.

First home buyers

In 2024, we helped 3,750 borrowers with lower incomes access home ownership through the First Home Guarantee (FHG).

Specialist disability accommodation (SDA)

In 2024, we financed the construction of some significant specialist homes for people living with disability. This included increasing our support for Synergis and Inspire Impact’s Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) Funds which will deliver more than 500 new homes across Victoria, Queensland, and South Australia in 2024/25.

Social, affordable and community housing

We’re working closely with the Federal Government's major housing financing body, Housing Australia, to help create the right financing conditions to build scale in social and affordable housing aligned with the Federal Government’s ambition for 40,000 social and affordable homes by 2029.

Creating suitable homes for Australians in need

Leading a good, healthy life starts with having a place to call home. At the time of the last Census, 122,000 Australians were experiencing homelessness . While males still make up the majority of those experiencing homelessness, the number of females experiencing homelessness increased by around 10% from 2016 to almost 54,000.

We don’t have enough safe and affordable homes available for Australians on lower incomes living with disabilities. The Treasury has forecast that another 1.2 million homes need to be built to meet the growing demand . As a bank, we’re well-equipped to help. We also believe we have a responsibility to do so. New homes don’t get built or bought without finance, and that’s where we can help most—by providing the funds that get Australians in need, into homes.

How we’re making a difference

We’re financing the construction of quality homes that Australians on lower incomes can afford to rent or even own. We’re making home ownership more affordable for Australians finding it hard to buy a first home, especially essential workers, by taking part in affordable home ownership programs.

Living with a disability can make finding a liveable home much harder, so we’re financing the construction of more quality specialist homes for Australians with disabilities.

To provide safe and liveable homes, banks, governments and non-profits need to work together so we’re actively contributing to partnerships that help get us there.

What does affordable and specialist housing include?

The spectrum of affordable housing spans accommodation provided by state and territory governments and community housing providers, through to mixed housing and commercial build-to-rent projects.

We’re working on the areas of the housing spectrum where we can help the most.