National Australia Bank (NAB) has indicated that it has joined forces with the not-for-profit sector in an effort to support the thousands of Australians not able to access appropriate housing in the mainstream market.
NAB’s chief customer officer corporate and institutional banking, David Gall, said the bank will focus on providing loans and developing new financing avenues for not-for-profit groups and other organisations that build affordable and specialist housing.
“This is a significant social issue – and we’re determined to help by funding more affordable and specialist homes and improving the capacity and financial maturity of the sector so that it can attract more investment,” Mr Gall said.
How will NAB spend the money?
According to the bank, money will be spent across five key areas:
- Provision of loans of up to $5 million to crisis accommodation centres, helping crisis accommodation providers purchase properties to accommodate people experiencing domestic and family violence and other vulnerable circumstances;
- Support community housing providers, including through the creation of funding models that will give them more capital to build homes;
- A commitment to increasing funds for developers of sustainable housing projects;
- Development of policies for lending to disability housing providers so NAB can fund the sector on a larger scale; and
- The development of viable funding options for build-to-rent projects in Australia.
SDA Alliance’s managing director, Melanie Southwell, said: “Additional capital like this is needed to ensure that approximately 28,000 Australians with very high disability support needs or extreme functional impairments have an appropriate and accessible place to call home.
“We need a diverse range of investors and lenders to achieve this.
“Seeing a big player like NAB step up to the challenge is brilliant, and we hope will in turn show others the way. We look forward to working together to grow the sector and successfully meet the housing needs of people with disabilities.”
About the author
