This research reviews first homebuyer assistance programs in Australia and seven comparator countries: Canada, Finland, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Singapore and the UK.

This research modelled ways to best finance and fund social housing, revealing that a capital investment strategy, supplemented by efficient financing, is substantially more cost-effective than a commercially-financed model reliant on an operating subsidy.

This research investigated frameworks for funding social housing as infrastructure, including cost-benefit analysis and alternatives such as ‘avoided cost’ and ‘housing adjusted life years’, to develop stronger analytical methods.

This study into the role of social housing as essential infrastructure assessed evaluation tools and techniques needed to enable investment by government. Cost-benefit analyses and business case preparation provide a means to quantify productivity, while the broader range of societal outcomes also needs to be considered.

A tenfold increase in building is needed to overcome the current social housing shortfall and cover projected growth in need. It can be done, and direct public investment is the cheapest way.