City of Newcastle's Affordable Housing Contribution Scheme reached a major milestone after Councillors endorsed a planning proposal at last night's Ordinary Council Meeting to bring it into effect.
The scheme sets out how contributions towards affordable housing will be collected from new developments.
Executive Director of Planning and Environment, Michelle Bisson, said the scheme showed that City of Newcastle was not just talking about the need for more affordable housing, but acting to achieve it.
"The Affordable Housing Contribution Scheme has been developed through extensive consultation and analysis to ensure that it is does not impact on development feasibility and overall housing supply," Ms Bisson said.
"It is a transparent, evidence-based framework that provides certainty for developers and recognises the importance of affordably priced housing for Novocastrians today and in the future."
The scheme was on public exhibition from November 2024 to February 2025, with amendments made based on submissions to clarify how it is to be applied, implemented and administered.
City of Newcastle's Affordable Housing Working Party Chair Councillor Elizabeth Adamczyk said the scheme was a key initiative to work towards a target of 15% of all housing being affordable housing.
"Many households in Newcastle are already in rental stress which has only increased with the cost-of-living crisis, and our population is forecast to grow significantly, so making sure there are affordable rental housing options available right across our city is incredibly important," Cr Adamczyk said.
"This is part of our comprehensive local approach to address the serious shortfall of available affordable rental housing that already exists in our city, and one that recognises it as critical social infrastructure that supports our diverse, inclusive, and strong community."
Affordable housing is available to support very low to moderate income households experiencing housing stress, which occurs where housing costs are greater than 30% of gross household income after other basic living costs.
The scheme will now be forwarded to the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure for finalisation after which it will be phased in over time to allow developers opportunity to factor it in prior to purchasing sites.
