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The National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC) is no more, with the newly created Housing Australia officially taking over the duties of the renamed government body.
More than a name change, Housing Australia adds some elements to its remit as well.
As Housing Australia, the agency will still operate as a corporate Commonwealth entity governed by an independent board. It will continue to deliver the Home Guarantee Scheme, Affordable Housing Bond Aggregator, and National Housing Infrastructure Facility, which all fell under the purview of the NHFIC.
And now, the agency takes on additional responsibilities to support the delivery of 40,000 more social and affordable homes under the new Housing Australia Future Fund and National Housing Accord.
The change follows the passage and royal assent of the federal government’s hallmark housing legislative package, which stalled in Parliament for the better part of the year before finding a majority of support on 18 September.
The NHFIC was established in 2018 to administer the federal government’s housing initiatives. Since that time, it has reportedly supported over 17,800 new and existing social and affordable homes with loans to 38 community housing providers totalling more than $3.4 billion through the bond aggregator and helped more than 114,000 Australians into home ownership.
The NHFIC will continue to be the entity’s legal name, and its ABN remains the same. The front end branding has changed with the website and email addresses of staff switching over to housingaustralia.gov.au as of this week.
Federal Housing Minister Julie Collins said that the commencement of Housing Australia represented “the start of an exciting new era for housing policy in Australia”.
“Housing Australia will be the new home for some of the Albanese government’s significant new housing commitments including delivering homes under the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund. It will also be critical for helping more Australians into home ownership through the Home Guarantee Scheme,” she said.
“It’s all part of our broad housing agenda to ensure more Australians have a safe and affordable place to call home – whether they’re buying, renting or needing a safe space to spend the night,” the minister added.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juliet Helmke
Based in Sydney, Juliet Helmke has a broad range of reporting and editorial experience across the areas of business, technology, entertainment and the arts. She was formerly Senior Editor at The New York Observer.
