This study examined the range of strategies and initiatives governments have used to leverage affordable housing supply across the continuum of housing needs (i.e. from social housing to affordable rental and home ownership) in a constrained funding and increasingly market-driven context, across a range of different jurisdictions and markets.

There is growing interest in the potential for inclusionary planning approaches to help deliver affordable housing supply in Australian cities and regions. Within wider government strategies for affordable housing supply, inclusionary planning approaches can play a role in requiring or incentivising dwelling units, land, or financial contributions towards affordable housing projects.

The clichés about housing supply and regulatory restraints are distractions from the need to focus on expanding the affordable housing sector to directly meet the needs of low-income households.

Decent housing underpins the Closing the Gap goals, with a decade-long national remote housing program having made measurable progress. If the Commonwealth pulls out now, hard-won gains could be lost.

This project examined state government-led innovations in affordable housing through analysis of two state-level strategies and two state-level programs.