The nation’s peak housing and homelessness bodies have strongly welcomed the agreement between Labor, the Greens and Cross bench to pass laws that establish the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF).

The $10 billion HAFF will create a pipeline of funding for social and affordable rental housing. The package of laws will also establish the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council as an independent statutory advisory body to plan the delivery of new social and affordable housing. It will also establish Housing Australia as the national housing agency.

An additional $1 billion will also be invested in the National Housing Infrastructure Facility to support new homes.

Wendy Hayhurst, CEO of Community Housing Industry Association, said the agreement would give community housing associations the confidence they needed to plan and deliver sorely needed homes.

“The passage of these laws is critically important,” Ms Hayhurst said. “This is the first step to easing the housing crisis and expanding the right type of housing supply, so that people on low and modest incomes have genuine housing options.

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