Federal funding boost of $105 million to back 28,000 new homes in WA

Nearly 28,000 new homes will be fast-tracked into construction across Western Australia with a $105 million funding boost to make sure they are hooked up to water, power and sewerage.

The federal funding injection will be spread across 21 projects ranging from Yanchep to Ellenbrook to Byford and Mundjiong, and includes social housing.

It will also open up about 3000 housing lots in Bunbury and Daradnup.

The bulk of the projects must be finished by mid-2026 to enable homes to start construction as soon as possible.

Federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine King and WA Housing Minister John Carey will announce the funding on Tuesday, after it was approved some weeks ago as The West reported in October.

Mr Carey said the major commitment would unlock key infrastructure works and unblock a pipeline of housing projects.

“The Cook Labor Government continues to work in lockstep with the Albanese Government to boost housing across the continuum throughout Western Australia,” he said.

Ms King said the Government was pulling every lever available to get more homes built quickly, including streamlining planning.

“Every Australian deserves the opportunity to have the keys to their own home — the walls upon which to hang pictures and the roof under which to make memories,” she said.

Housing is set to be a hot topic in the looming Federal election as Labor, the Coalition and the Greens vie over plans to help more people own homes.

The Government has set a target of building 1.2 million homes over five years.

But construction approvals figures released on Monday suggest it will fall short of that goal.

Across Australia, there were 169,394 dwellings approved in the year to October. Nearly two-thirds were new freestanding houses and most of the rest were other types of homes including apartments, townhouses and semi-detached houses.

Monthly approvals are still about 5000 lower than the peak in January 2021, but the trend has been increasing since early this year.

However, if construction continues at this pace, only 847,000 new homes will be built over the next five years, the Master Builders Association warned.

Chief executive Denita Wawn said the approvals figures were a promising step but the country was a long way from the pace needed to reach the 1.2 million-home target.

That needed a collaborative effort to achieve.

“We need to see this level of output increased and sustained over a longer period of time,” Ms Wawn said.

“To get the policy settings right and create an environment where the building and construction industry can get the job done, we need governments at all levels, across a range of portfolios, working together in a ‘whole-of-government’ approach to housing.”

Master Builders chief economist Shane Garrett pointed to an increase in rents last month, saying it was a “direct result of years of underbuilding new apartments and units”, although there was a significant bump in the number of apartments approved in October.

The Coalition has promised a $5 billion fund to unlock 500,000 ready-to-go housing sites by paying for vital infrastructure like power, water and sewerage that developers and councils can’t afford.

But the Government said its $1.5 billion housing support program — including Tuesday’s $105 million announcement — is already doing this.

WA Treasury’s housing supply unit nominated the projects, which are located in Stirling, Innaloo, Malaga, Ballajura, High Wycombe, Ellenbrook, West Swan, Alkimos, Yanchep, Kwinana, Byford, Mundijong, Bunbury and Dardanup.

The bulk of the money, $50.6 million, will be used for Water Corporation infrastructure to deliver almost 23,300 residential lots including the two regional projects.