The NASHH
Cook AP
Author
The Albanese Labor Government has delivered a new National Agreement on Social Housing and Homelessness, which commenced in July 2024. The agreement commits approximately $1.779 billion in Commonwealth funding for 2024-25, including $1.379 billion in general funding and $400 million in specified homelessness funding, which states and territories must match.
Under the agreement, Labor has established a comprehensive framework requiring states to:
Maintain publicly available housing and homelessness strategies
Deliver detailed implementation plans
Provide regular reporting against a National Outcomes Framework
Participate in improved national data collection
The funding directly supports essential social housing and homelessness services. For homelessness services, this includes crisis accommodation, counselling, advocacy, housing assistance, outreach support, and financial and employment assistance. For social housing, it supports public housing, State Owned and Managed Indigenous Housing, community housing and Indigenous community housing programs.
The agreement also recognises the disproportionate housing inequality affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It integrates commitments from the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, requiring decisions affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to be made through formal Partnership Bodies with appropriate representation from Indigenous communities and housing peak bodies.
[1] https://federalfinancialrelations.gov.au/sites/federalfinancialrelations.gov.au/files/2024-06/nashh-final.pdf
[2] https://www.dss.gov.au/housing-and-homelessness-strategy/national-agreement-social-housing-and-homelessness