The aim of affordable housing is to enable people to live an area that is close to services like transport, shopping, health care and schools and to their support networks in the community. Within the definition of Affordable housing there are two distinct income groups. These are:

• Social Housing which is for people on very low to low incomes. This group are usually people in receipt of some form of Centrelink or other statutory payment and have an annual income that is in the lowest quartile for income distribution in Australia. People within this group are eligible for public housing.
• Key worker housing is designed to assist people on low to moderate incomes with housing in locations near to where they work. People in this group are usually not eligible for public housing. It is specifically targeted to workers in employment sectors that contribute to the health and social wellbeing of local communities. The types of industry these workers will be drawn from includes, essential services (police, fire and ambulance), health services, childcare workers, education and other community support services. Housing for this group will be supplied through the National Rental Affordability Scheme.

National Rental Affordability Scheme
The Federal Government developed the National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS) which is aimed at creating and providing affordable housing for key workers including nurses, police, childcare workers, etc. NRAS is not a public housing or welfare program; it is a tax incentive to induce more private investment in the lower price range of the residential construction market.

NRAS seeks to address the shortage of affordable rental housing by offering tax-free financial incentives to the business sector and not for profit community housing organisations to build and rent new affordable dwellings.

It is a new opportunity for government, debt and equity investors, property developers and not for profit housing organisations to work together to increase the supply of affordable private rental housing and create a new ongoing asset class in Australia. BlueCHP is experienced in delivering NRAS development projects with successful applications made in the first two funding rounds of the Scheme.

BueCHP’s business model and rapid growth demonstrates the organisations capacity to partner with other Companies to establish investments that deliver more affordable housing in Australia.

Additional Facts
Fact Sheet: National Rental Incentive

Questions & Answers: The benefits of investing in NRAS

Source: Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA)