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The state government has been urged to reveal the “missing details” to the Homes for Queenslanders plan.
In early February, the state government released the Homes for Queenslanders plan, a $1.3 billion five-pillar plan that will include a $350 million Incentivising Infill Fund to build more homes and support for Queensland renters, with a $160 million Renters Relief Package and changes to rental laws, such as ban on rent bidding and fee-free payment options.
The plan will also include more support for first home owners with a Queensland home finance loan pilot program and the administration of the federal government’s Help to Buy scheme.
It has also set a target goal to deliver 53,500 social homes by 2046, while allocating $390 million in funding for homelessness services.
According to Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) CEO Antonia Mercorella, the institute is supportive of the overarching principles of the plan and said that “if it can be delivered there’s no doubt it would put Queensland in a much better position than it is in today”.
However, she has called on the state government to reveal “the roadmap that will take us from here to there”.
She explained that the REIQ struggled to understand how the current outline of the plan will be different from past targets that have fallen short.
“We want to be ‘ambitious’, we want to remain hopeful, but without the ‘how’ it’s hard to see these targets being hit,” she said.
While the inclusion of the renters’ relief package, additional staff support, additional funding for homelessness services, the independent sector review and the youth foyers in the plan are warranted, these will only act as a band-aid, said Ms Mercorella.
She stated: “We need to solve the problem that is causing more and more people to go to these providers in the first place.”
On behalf of the REIQ, Ms Mercorella said some of the “multifaceted” solutions imperative to the state’s housing concerns are missed in the plan.
These include “addressing the tax environment, the cost of construction and productivity, and support for apprenticeships and skills in Queensland”.
She also stated that there is a “trick or two” missing from the announced first home owner support.
While there is a focus on assisting people in the rental sector, Ms Mercorella is concerned that there is no focus on creating pathways to home ownership.
“Queensland has the lowest home ownership rates in Australia, and a concerted focus to turn this around by assisting those who want to transition into owning their own home would have widespread benefits,” she said.
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