13th Sep 2023, 10:55 AM – Senate Housing Australia Future Fund Bill 2023 and two others - Second Reading - Agree with bills' main idea

The majority voted in favour of a motion to read the bills for a second time. In other words, they agreed with the main idea of the bills and so can now consider them in more detail.

What do the bills do?

According to the bills digest (which is prepared by the parliamentary library):

• The Housing Australia Future Fund is created by the Housing Australia Future Fund Bill 2023 (HAFF Bill). It is proposed to be structured, governed, and administered in a similar way to other Investment Funds. The financing will be administered using two Special Accounts.
• The National Housing Supply and Affordability Council is created by the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council Bill 2023 (Council Bill). The proposed structure, governance, and administrative arrangement are like other Australian Government Councils.
• The National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHIFC) is to be renamed Housing Australia by amendments proposed in the Treasury Laws Amendment (Housing Measures No. 1) Bill 2023 (Amendment Bill). The Amendment Bill also extends a Commonwealth guarantee for the NHFIC from 1 July 2023 to 1 July 2028. In addition, a series of consequential amendments are made to reflect this name change across other Commonwealth Acts.
• Issues with the Housing Australia Future Fund and associated Bills are likely to be few. However, there may be policy issues which need to be considered including: the proliferation of investment funds and alternative financing approaches, the potential effectiveness of the scale of the expenditures compared to the social housing challenge, the location of new housing investments, the selection of Council members, and the transparency of the Council in delivering its functions.