Good morning, everyone
Thank you to Homelessness Australia and Homelessness Queensland for the invitation to be part of such an important forum. It really is a pleasure to be here with you today – albeit virtually from Canberra.
I’m on Ngunnawal land here in Canberra today, and I acknowledge elders past and present, and any First Nations people who are joining us today. There is an over‑representation of First Nations people in all forms of housing distress and that’s something I know many in this room are working hard to address.
Kate Colvin, CEO of Homelessness Australia, and Stephen Simpson, CEO of Homelessness Queensland, as well as the conference advisory board members for all their hard work making this gathering possible. Thank you for inviting me to be with you today.
And my special thanks to you in this room who are frontline workers in services supporting people affected by homelessness.
Introduction
Today we come together with a purpose, reflected in the theme of the conference: ‘Ending pathways to homelessness’.
This is a purpose that drives me as Minister for Housing, Homelessness and Cities not just today but every day of the year. It’s also why I’m here today not just as your minister, but as your fierce advocate within government.
The challenges we face in housing are complex, and while our government has delivered a strong and ambitious housing agenda with $43 billion invested to date, we still have more work to do. It’s not going to be enough until every Australian has a safe, affordable place to call home.
What we’ve delivered – and why we need you to keep pushing
Having finished our first term and now embarking on a second term, and I want to talk to you a bit about the approach to housing in term one, and we’ll build on that in this term.
Most of you know that Commonwealth governments haven’t always been involved in housing.
In the wake of the Second World War, the Commonwealth became very involved in housing Australians, but for the last 70 years we have seen – with a couple of exceptions – basically the Commonwealth walk away from having much to do with housing as an issue.
That changed when our government was elected in 2022.
And I think that by the time we finish this term, it will be very difficult for a government to undo everything we are putting in place. And that is a really good thing.
We have taken the Commonwealth from saying – we’re really not going to take responsibility for housing at all, into making this a critical part of our election platform, and amassing a $43 billion investment across homelessness, social housing, home ownership support for low and middle income earners, and additional rent assistance.
The Commonwealth is back in the hard work of financing and partnering to build new housing, in substantial numbers.
We’re working to deliver 55,000 social and affordable homes, and support for more than a hundred thousand first home buyers to own a home of their own.
We’ve delivered a 45 per cent increase to Commonwealth Rent Assistance and massive investment in crisis and transitional housing.
This term, housing is going to be pivotal to the work of our government – I believe more so than even in our first term.
That’s part of the reason for the appointment of Josh Burns MP as our Special Envoy for Social Housing and Homelessness.
This is the Prime Minister and our government recognising that homelessness demands more dedicated, focused, high‑level attention.
I could not imagine a better person for this role than Josh.
He will bring to this not just his parliamentary experience, but genuine understanding of housing insecurity and a deep commitment to finding solutions.
He represents an electorate that faces real and ongoing struggles regarding housing instability and homelessness, and he fights every day for those people.
Well now, he’s going to be doing the same for people all around Australia.
This sector and this work is always going to be pivotal to my responsibilities. Now the Special Envoy role means you have an additional, direct line to government decision‑making.
It means your concerns, your evidence, your solutions have a dedicated champion working alongside me to ensure they reach the Prime Minister’s office, reach Cabinet discussions, and reach the policy decisions that matter.
Josh will be attending the conference later this afternoon, so if you don’t already know Josh, please go and introduce yourself. He’s a great person to know.
Before he joins you there today, Josh is with Queensland Minister Sam O’Connor announcing that construction is underway on more than 200 new social and affordable homes in Southport.
This is a project that will deliver much‑needed housing for Queenslanders in need, including people sleeping rough and women escaping domestic violence.
It’s a project that underscores our government’s commitment to working with all levels of government to build homes for people who need them most.
The $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund is delivering 40,000 social and affordable homes. Over 13,000 are expected under Round 1, with over 10,000 contracts already signed. Round 2 will deliver 5,000 social homes through Commonwealth‑state partnerships.
We’re investing $1 billion into crisis and transitional housing through the NHIF and $275 million through Safe Places Emergency Accommodation and Crisis and Transitional Accommodation programs for women and children escaping violence.
We’re providing $9.3 billion to states and territories through the National Agreement on Social Housing and Homelessness, including $400 million per year in dedicated homelessness funding that states must match.
Your voice is essential – keep using it
I am really aware that you in this room don’t just deliver vital frontline services – you are the policy conscience of this nation. Your advocacy, research and input shapes our action. Without your voice, without your demands, without your relentless focus on what needs to happen next, we cannot create the systemic change that Australia’s housing crisis demands.
That’s why we’re investing $6.2 million in grants to support leading homelessness peak bodies to strengthen advocacy and coordinate the sector. Because I need you strong. I need you to be resourced and informed so we can have a genuine, rich, focused public debate where everyone is held accountable.
Areas where we must do more
There are a few areas really on my mind at the moment that I would like you to help me on.
For women and children escaping violence – one of the most common reasons women don’t leave violent partners is lack of safe housing. This is unacceptable in Australia, and we must do more.
We have put very significant dollars on the table for more housing – we need to get it built, and the delivery aspect of this probably does not get as much focus as it should. None of us should be achieving funding announcements then walking away declaring victory. My experience so far as housing minister is that translating that money into supports and outcomes is often the harder task.
For young people – over 38,000 young people aged 15–24 presented alone to homelessness services in 2023–24. Our $92 million investment in youth homelessness prevention through Reconnect is important, but the scale of need demands we think bigger.
For First Nations people – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been left behind when it comes to housing. Our Housing Policy Partnership and targeted initiatives are steps forward, but we must move faster.
In a second term, our big focus is on delivery. We have committed a huge amount of money and resources to solving the problems of under‑supply of housing in Australia – and now we will be working very hard to ensure that investment translates into real homes, for real people who need real help.
We will continue to work very closely with states, territories and local governments, along with your sector and the building sector to look at ways in which we can build more homes, more quickly.
My commitment to you
I have had the pleasure of working with many of you at the conference today. I am a genuinely fierce advocate not only for housing generally but also for making sure we address the worst aspect of Australia’s housing crisis, which is homelessness.
What we’ve achieved in 3 years shows what’s possible when government and sector work in partnership. But it’s just the beginning. The housing crisis didn’t emerge overnight, and it won’t be solved overnight. But the only way to address it is through sustained, collaborative effort and relentless advocacy for those who need it most. And that is what we need, and what we are getting, from the people in this room.
The energy, dedication, and collective drive to see change in this room today is truly inspiring. This sector’s refusal to accept homelessness as inevitable is what gives me hope and what drives me to fight harder every day.
Thank you for having me here today, and thank you for the critical work you do every single day. And I really look forward to working with you all over this coming term of parliament.