The Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA WA) has welcomed today’s announcement by the State Government of a $400m Housing Enabling Infrastructure Fund (HEIF) to support the delivery of critical enabling infrastructure to unlock much needed housing supply.
“Prioritising and planning for key infrastructure to unlock housing supply has been reactive and consequently too late for decades,” UDIA WA CEO Tanya Steinbeck said.
“Any housing supply shortage will be exacerbated by not having the necessary power, water and sewer infrastructure planned years in advance,” Ms Steinbeck said.
UDIA WA has identified lack of enabling infrastructure as a key constraint to delivering housing in many areas across Perth and the regions.
Today’s announcement comes off the back of recommendations made in UDIA WA’s recent Growth Areas Infrastructure Requirements Report, which highlighted three key growth areas where the planning, funding and delivery of key infrastructure could facilitate the delivery of up to 90,000 new homes.
“UDIA WA has been working proactively with the Housing Supply Unit to ensure that the areas that we have already identified via thorough research, are considered for immediate funding,” Ms Steinbeck said.
“It is very positive that the government has committed to working with industry and other key stakeholders to identify the pieces of infrastructure that need to be prioritised,” Ms Steinbeck said.
UDIA WA has predicted that WA will fall significantly short of the Federal Government’s lofty Housing Accord targets unless immediate and effective action is taken to deliver more housing across the spectrum from social and affordable homes through to home ownership options.
“It is critical that infrastructure coordination, funding and delivery aligns with development pipeline intentions for undeveloped urban zoned land, and potential future urban land,” Ms Steinbeck said.
“Proper coordination enables early planning and greater certainty for residential projects and more efficient delivery of much needed homes,” Ms Steinbeck said.
“There is a myriad of constraints on urban zoned land, from infrastructure to environmental constraints, that makes it difficult to deliver land to market in a timely and affordable way,” Ms Steinbeck said.
“Overcoming infrastructure constraints in key areas through planning, coordination and delivery of infrastructure at the right time to catalyse development for the creation of new homes is paramount,” Ms Steinbeck said.
Read the UDIA WA Growth Areas Infrastructure Requirements Report.