This review of the National Housing Infrastructure Facility (NHIF) provides an in-depth look at the performance, evolving impact and the housing outcomes achieved through NHIF-funded projects to 31 December 2024.

Established by the Australian Government in 2018 as a $1 billion initiative to finance critical housing-enabling infrastructure –  such as utilities and roads –  the NHIF remit expanded in 2022 to enable direct investment in new social and affordable housing. 

In 2024, NHIF received a further $1 billion to support housing solutions for vulnerable Australians including women and children affected by family and domestic violence and young people at-risk of, or experiencing, homelessness.

Key highlights

• A total of $640 million in concessional loans and grants has been committed under the NHIF.
• Since the NHIF mandate expanded in November 2022 to include social and affordable housing, more than 72% of approved funding (over $340 million) has been directed to such projects.
• NHIF funding plays a central role in leveraging state and territory grants, commercial lending, institutional investment as well as Housing Australia’s Affordable Housing Bond Aggregator (AHBA) which supports approximately one-in-five NHIF projects.
• More than 2,400 homes are designated for priority tenant cohorts, including First Nations Australians, older women, those escaping family violence, as well as key workers.
• NHIF funding encourages innovation in housing delivery. A recent example of such innovation is a 490-dwelling development in regional Australia, built entirely with modular construction technologies – which is believed to be the largest ever fully modular housing development in the Southern Hemisphere.  
• Infrastructure projects funded by the NHIF have unlocked significant land for housing, laying the groundwork for future large-scale, long-term development outcomes ultimately unlocking increased social and affordable housing.