Media release – Guy Barnett, Minister for State Development, Construction and Housing, 6 June 2023

Release of draft Tasmania Housing Strategy to help deliver 20-year vision

The Rockliff Liberal Government is committed to safe and secure housing for all Tasmanians which is why we are delivering the most ambitious housing plan in the state’s history.

To guide our record investment of $1.5 billion to deliver 10,000 social and affordable homes, we are developing Tasmania’s first 20-year vision to improve the sustainability of our entire housing system.

“Today, I’m proud to release our draft 20-Year Housing Strategy for Tasmania, which will contribute to shaping our housing future,” Minister Barnett said.

“Our vision is for a well-functioning, viable housing system that provides safe, appropriate and affordable housing for all Tasmanians.

“To achieve this, we must be innovative and deliver more diverse types of housing that supports improved social and economic outcomes and considers our changing population and demographic needs into the future.

“Homes Tasmania has led the development of the draft Strategy, shaped by input from many of our stakeholder partners and the Tasmanian community on their housing priorities, the challenges they face, and the solutions they believe can improve the lives of all Tasmanians.

“This draft Strategy has been built on feedback from a Discussion Paper released in 2022, meetings with Tasmanian councils, the Housing Reference Group, focus groups with people with lived experience and engagement with the Aboriginal Tasmanian community.

“The final 20-Year Tasmanian Housing Strategy will be supported by a series of action plans that ensure our responses to Tasmania’s housing challenges are agile and evolve just as our State’s housing needs will change and evolve,” Minister Barnett said.

Tasmanians are invited to provide feedback on the draft Tasmanian Housing Strategy by visiting the Tasmanian Housing Strategy website: https://tashousingstrategy.homestasmania.com.au/. Consultation is now open until Sunday 2 July 2023.

Media release – Guy Barnett, Minister for State Development, Construction and Housing,7 June 2023

Building more homes and building the workforce of the future

The Rockliff Liberal Government is looking at innovative ways to increase the supply of social and affordable housing for vulnerable Tasmanians, while also building our skilled workforce.

The Tasmanian Budget 2023-24 invests $4 million over six years into Build Up Tassie, a free work-readiness program for anyone aged between 16-24 looking to enter the construction industry.

Build up Tassie is a program run by Centacare Evolve Housing and St Joseph Affordable Homes which helps vulnerable young people into work, while building affordable homes.

“The key to addressing Tasmania’s housing challenges is to increase supply and we need many more skilled trades to build these homes,” Minister Barnett said.

“Our investment in skills and training will also assist young Tasmanians to reach their potential.

“The Tasmanian Government has a $1.5 billion plan to deliver 10,000 new social and affordable homes by 2032. We also set an ambitious target to deliver 1500 social and affordable homes by June 2023 and we are tracking well with,

“Homes Tasmania has already delivered 969 homes towards our goal of 1500 homes by June 2023 as part of our ambitious $1.5 billion program of 10,000 social and affordable homes by 2032, many of which Centacare Evolve Housing and St Joseph Affordable Homes has supported us in building.

“The Tasmanian Government already has strong relationships with Centacare Evolve Housing and St Joseph Affordable Homes as not-for-profit housing providers and Build Up Tassie is a great extension of that partnership,” Minister Barnett said.

“The Build Up Tassie project is a fantastic program because it gets more social and affordable homes out of the ground faster and it also helps train young men and women in building and construction – which is a real win-win.

“We will be asking the Federal Government to match our commitment of $4 million over 6 years to help more Tasmanians into jobs and more Tasmanians into homes.

The Rockliff Liberal Government is building a strong, safe and secure future for Tasmanians which is under-pinned by a broader plan to provide more homes for Tasmanians.

The Rockliff Liberal Government is proud to be delivering the most ambitious social and affordable housing program in the state’s history and partnering and supporting our construction industry in the process.

Media release – Shelter Tas, 7 June 2023

Draft Tasmanian Housing Strategy Released + Consultation Opportunity

Minister for State Development, Construction and Housing, Guy Barnett MP, yesterday announced the release of the State Government’s draft Tasmanian Housing Strategy and consultation process.

Shelter Tas welcomes the release of this important 20-year Strategy, which will guide the future of housing in Tasmania. We have been involved in providing feedback throughout the process, and will respond to the draft Strategy on behalf of our members.

We’ll also provide further information in our upcoming eNews, and in the meantime you can read Minister Barnett’s media release, the draft Strategy document and other important information via the links below:

If you would like to provide feedback to the draft Tasmanian Housing Strategy, consultation closes 5pm on July 3rd 2023. Read more here.