Architects push for $4bn First Nations housing boost

The Australian Institute of Architects has called for the acceleration of First Nations housing development to keep pace with the Closing The Gap initiatives.

The nation’s peak body for the architectural profession, representing more than 14,500 members, said an additional $4 billion investment should go to the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) for a specific $4bn fund for First Nations codesigned social housing.

In its submission to the 2024 Australian Government Budget, the Institute proposed the First Nations-specific funding should be within an additional $10bn of social and affordable housing to double HAFF’s investment pool.

The Institute’s National President Stuart Tanner said the Productivity Commission’s recent Review on Closing the Gap highlighted the fundamental changes required on housing delivery and policy.

“Australia needs better and more culturally appropriate housing for our First Nations people,” Mr Tanner said. “A codesign process together with First Nations peoples can support communities to build and maintain housing and local economies through construction and skills development.”

He said the needs of First Nations Australians should be prioritised to overcome the current failing of one in five dwellings inhabited by Indigenous people not meeting an acceptable standard, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

The Institute believes better outcomes for First Nations peoples through projects and initiatives will come from codesign and local collaboration.

Broadly, the Institute said the Australian Government’s initial $10bn investment in the HAFF last year was welcomed but insufficient to meet the real and growing need for social housing.

“A safe, secure and sustainable home has become out of reach for many households,” Mr Tanner said. “We need to increase the supply of housing to change the dynamics and provide the human right of shelter to all Australians.

“This is a core role of the government, which rightly established the HAFF to reinstate appropriate funding for social and affordable housing and meet community needs.”

The Institute has set out a comprehensive pre-Budget submission to the Australian Government that also seeks energy efficiency, decarbonisation of construction, accessibility and greater design oversight for housing and the built environment.

It states social and affordable housing should be overseen by design professionals to ensure dwellings are liveable, to budget and minimise costs, with minimum standards for HAFF-funded housing conditional on development approval by multi-disciplinary design review panels, a minimum 8-Star energy efficiency standard, no gas appliances and design by an architect.

Further, pre-approved architect designs to meet quality, light, airflow, energy and other requirements – subject to proper orientation and implementation – could enable faster approvals and cost reductions.

The Institute has sought a national competition to commission such designs in a social housing “pattern book”.

The Institute has recommended a fund seeded with $500 million to enable net zero building materials research, assist universities and TAFE sectors to commercialise such products, and support local manufacturing, in a bid to accelerate low carbon buildings.

Further, a $50m advance for targeted professional development and skills training in energy efficiency and condensation mitigation and a $10m plan to research and develop guidelines for adaptive reuse and retrofitting of government buildings could support decarbonisation and landfill waste.

Improved data collection and risk maps for climate change should also be a priority. Funding for gender inclusion and equity, as well as practical design requirements to improve accessibility for people living with disabilities has also been requested by the Institute.