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Housing affordability

Real affordability, not just more expensive stock.

Principle

Housing policy should deliver genuine affordability, not simply increase housing supply at higher price points.

Why it matters

Increasing development capacity does not automatically improve housing affordability. Without targeted affordability measures, planning changes inflate land values, encourage speculation and result in the loss of existing affordable housing, while many people continue to be priced out of the communities where they live and work.

What this requires

  • Planning reforms that deliver genuine housing affordability, not simply more housing supply.

  • Significant investment in social and public housing.

  • Retention of existing naturally occurring affordable housing alongside the delivery of new affordable homes.

  • Affordable housing measures that are meaningful, transparent and enforceable.

  • Affordable housing that remains affordable over the long term, not just for a limited period.

  • More family-sized and genuinely liveable homes for different households and life stages.

  • Housing policies that prioritise homes for people to live in, not simply investment opportunities.

  • Planning settings that support long-term affordability rather than short-term speculation.

Housing policy should ultimately be judged not by how many homes are built, but by how many people can genuinely afford them.