Anthony Albanese and Peter Malinauskas have announced a new state and federal funding package worth more than $800 million that they say will help deliver about 17,000 new homes with almost 7,000 earmarked for first home buyers.
The agreement centres on unlocking housing in Adelaide’s north where the pace of land releases has been constrained by gaps in enabling infrastructure particularly water and sewer connections.
Under the deal, the Commonwealth will provide a $534 million loan to the South Australia government including $300 million for water infrastructure in the northern suburbs and $184 million aimed at supporting about 1,700 homes through urban renewal projects across metropolitan Adelaide.
The state will also match $134 million in federal funding for 750 homes for first home buyers.
The package also includes a $50 million concessional loan to help deliver a 400 home first home buyer precinct in Munno Para and highlighted earlier servicing failures in the region including sewage trucked out daily in 2024 because of connection issues.
The announcement is the first state level agreement linked to federal Labor’s election commitment to reserve 100,000 homes for first time buyers, to be delivered from 2026 to 27 across eight years through a mix of grants and concessional loans.
Industry and planning groups welcomed the focus on enabling infrastructure with the Planning Institute of Australia saying targeted investment in northern water infrastructure and urban renewal precincts should help convert planned supply into built homes.
Housing affordability is expected to dominate the South Australian state election campaign in March as pressures build across both the rental and purchasing markets.
