Victoria awarded $350 million federal bonus to boost liveability and infrastructure

At the Melbourne Assembly civic forum, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese revealed that Victoria has secured a $350 million federal bonus under the National Housing Accord’s New Homes Bonus scheme, earmarked for community infrastructure in expanding suburbs and regional centres. The grant follows new modelling by the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council, which forecasts 287,000 new dwellings by July 2029, surpassing the state’s baseline target.

Former New York mayor Bill de Blasio used his speech to call for a mandatory 25 percent affordable-housing share in new projects, citing successful inclusionary zoning in his former city. Victoria currently applies a 10 percent affordable-housing rule that developers can satisfy by paying a 3 percent levy into a housing fund, a practice criticised by planners and industry groups. Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny highlighted that 16,000 homes have been delivered under the Development Facilitation Program, with 18 percent classified as affordable. Opposition spokesman David Southwick and the Planning Institute of Australia called for clearer targets and greater transparency, while the Urban Development Institute of Australia warned that mandatory quotas could raise overall housing costs.