$1.5m program to aid community housing
Community housing providers are to receive a boost from the government via a $1.5m grant program.
Community housing providers are set to receive a boost from the federal government via its bond aggregator through a new $1.5 million grant program.
The National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation yesterday announced the Capacity Building Program, which will offer grants of up to $20,000 to eligible community housing providers.
It is designed to help organisations obtain the initial advice needed to get a project off the ground prior to lodging a NHFIC loan application. Grants will be administered by the Community Housing Industry Association on the NHFIC’s behalf.
NHFIC chief executive Nathan Dal Bon said the year-old corporation was committed to helping community housing providers unlock affordable housing.
“In the less than 12 months since commencing operations, NHFIC has made rapid progress and achieved tremendous early success in helping expand and accelerate the delivery of more social and affordable housing in Australia,” Mr Dal Bon said.
“By providing a grant program that funds professional advisory services, we aim to strengthen the ability of CHPs to access NHFIC’s lower-cost, longer-tenor finance and unlock more housing supply.”
Community Housing Industry Association chief executive Wendy Hayhurst welcomed the program, saying the grants would help many smaller specialist and regionally based community housing organisations aid their communities. “Being able to get upfront advice to help prepare the proposal could turn the idea into reality,” she said.
Applications for the Capacity Building Program open on July 1.
The grant program was established through consultation with key stakeholders in the sector. It will provide consultancy services covering four key areas, covering fundraising and business modelling, property development and risk management.
Funding was allocated in the 2017-18 federal budget.
In March, the NHFIC introduced a $315m bond scheme for community housing providers, offering interest-only loans with a fixed rate of under 3 per cent for a 10-year period.
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