Contributed by Mr Frank Palatucci, Deputy GM, SAPL Business Development Division

August 2024
Sydney, Australia

Australia is currently facing a severe housing crisis due to a significant imbalance between demand and supply, marked by low rental vacancy, rising homelessness, surging rents, and dwelling prices. To address this, the Australian Federal Government has committed to delivering 1,200,000 new homes over 5 years, with the New South Wales state government responsible for 375,000 (75,000 per year) of these homes. However, NSW’s current construction rate of 45,000 homes per year falls significantly short of the required levels due to insufficient capacity using traditional design and construction methods.

SAPL believes that there is a better way to deliver new affordable housing in NSW. We are working with a new Design, Manufacture, Integration (DMI) construction methodology platform developed with our proposed JV partner, PT Blink (PTB). By eliminating layers of old confusing procedures, DMI can substantially reduce the time it takes for housing to become available, contributing to substantial cost savings to developers and ultimately to the affordable housing market.

Under the 2024-2025 NSW Budget, Landcom (NSW residential development arm) has been allocated $450 million to build new affordable apartments for essential workers to purchase or rent at subsidised rates. This is the project which SAPL and PTB will be targeting. The sites will be located in metro Sydney that are close to transport, shopping links, and employment hubs. Subject to planning approvals, it is anticipated that first site constructions will begin in the first quarter of 2026 with move-in expected towards late 2027.

The mockup below highlights what a typical affordable, social housing development by SAPL and PTB could look like, featuring a minimum 3-storeys and accommodating approximately 40 individual housing units. We are continuing to refine our initial draft business plans and to liaise with NSW Government departments, its stakeholders, and private developers to accelerate the rollout, which we believe will benefit young first-home buyers in the affordable housing market.