Western Australian and Federal Governments invest A$2bn in housing
Sydney (4 May)
Western Australia’s state government has partnered with the Federal Government to invest A$2 billion into housing and housing-related infrastructure projects, they said in a joint statement on 3 May.
The Federal Government will invest over A$1 billion into the state, with WA’s government covering the rest, they added.
The joint investments will support 34,000 new dwellings – including 11,000 units for first home buyers – and water and power infrastructure. WA’s government expects developers to deliver new dwellings from 2027, it said.
WA will spend A$1.3 billion of the joint investment on enabling infrastructure and land development work in regional areas and along transport corridors, with the remaining A$700 million going to housing projects.
The two governments’ investment will flow through a range of new and existing state-level programmes.
WA’s government plans to build 500 new homes for first home buyers and sell them through a shared equity scheme, it said. The state’s Housing Authority will buy a 35% share of the new houses through state-owned lender Keystart, cutting effective purchasing costs without lowering house prices. WA and federal governments have allocated A$375 million to the scheme.
They will offer developers up to A$250 million in low-cost financing for affordable homes through Keystart.
The Property Council has welcomed the joint housing investment. The scheme will help WA developers build new affordable homes and new infill developments, it said on 3 May. “The ability to access low-cost financing … will help apartment projects in key infill areas get out of the ground faster,” Property Council WA Executive Director Nicola Brischetto said.
House prices in Western Australia rose by 23.8% over the year to March 2026, data from the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council (NHSAC) show. Just 17% of homes in the state were found to be affordable for households on median incomes in 2025, down from 25% a year earlier, according to NHSAC data.
WA house prices partly increased in 2025 because of high population growth and low housing growth, NHSAC said in its State of the Housing System report.
WA aims to increase its housing supply by 130,000 homes by 2029, relative to 2024 levels, under Australia’s National Housing Accord. But Master Builders – a construction industry group – has forecasted a 13,000 housing shortfall relative to the state’s target.
“Supply-side measures are what are needed to grow available stock, not simply [shift] demand around,” Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn said on 3 May. The industry group has welcomed WA’s investment.
Australian state and federal governments plan to increase Australia’s total housing supply by 1.2 million homes by 2029, from 2024 levels, through the National Housing Accord.
By Avinash Govind