Housing crisis Qld: State’s biggest social, affordable housing project approved

Construction on Queensland’s largest social housing project will begin next week after it secured hundreds of millions of dollars in federal, state and private sector funding.

Renders for 490-home mega social and affordable housing project in Woree, Cairns.

Construction on Queensland’s largest social housing project will begin next week after it secured hundreds of millions of dollars in federal, state and private sector funding.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Premier Steven Miles have flown to Cairns to announce the major project on the site of a former drive-in cinema at Woree.

The 490-home precinct will include 245 social, 223 affordable, and 22 specialist disability apartments.

And work is expected to begin as soon as next week, with new age modular construction methods to ensure the entire project is constructed quickly, with completion expected at the end of 2026.

The project’s cost has not been divulged but it is understood to be about $390m, with the state government forking out the lion’s share.

Renders for 490-home mega social and affordable housing project in Woree, Cairns.

Funding is coming from the state government’s $2bn Housing Investment Fund, loans from the federal government’s Housing Australia Future Fund, Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility, and a capital grant from the National Housing Infrastructure Facility.

ANZ has also provided financing, with the major bank locked in to housing lending targets as part of its deal with the federal and state governments to acquire Suncorp’s banking arm.

It comes as Mr Albanese and his government are locked in a fierce battle with the Coalition and the Greens on major housing laws, delayed another two months by a Senate deadlock.

Mr Albanese will use the announcement in Woree to argue his government was “determined to increase housing supply” despite the political fight with the Coalition, One Nation and the Greens.

“Housing changes lives, and my government is determined to work with the Queensland government to deliver more homes all across the state,” he said.

Renders for 490-home mega social and affordable housing project in Woree, Cairns.

Mr Miles’ focus has also been squarely on housing this week as the state gears up for the October election, with ministers dispatched to spruik government policy.

“One of the most important things a government can do is build homes for the most vulnerable – something I’m proud to be doing every day,” he said.

“In Woree, this 490-home precinct is the biggest housing build in our state.”

The housing complex in Woree is targeted at Queenslanders aged older than 55 and those with disabilities and features purpose-built, low maintenance and energy efficient one and two bedroom homes according to the government.

The project will involve modular construction, meaning it will largely be built off site and carted into Woree and assembled.

FCC Construction Australia and Queensland company Modscape will lead the construction.

Renders for 490-home mega social and affordable housing project in Woree, Cairns.