FAQs

The criteria for market affordable housing require that the housing, at its market value or market rent, is affordable to the particular household. Housing does not meet the criteria if it has a market value or market rent that exceeds the affordability of the specified household group, even if it is sold below its market value. 

Housing sold or rented at less than its market value may constitute non-market affordable housing where additional governance and eligibility restrictions are provided to manage who has access to the housing and how the affordability will be maintained.

The sale of housing at less than its market value without additional governance restrictions could provide a windfall gain to the first purchaser.

Yes, a housing needs analysis that provides for first home buyers and key workers as specified in the proposed criteria g) and h) would be published on the MEDQ’s website. This includes making it available during the consultation period for the relevant draft development scheme as background material that has informed the draft development scheme.

Affordable housing requirements in PDA development schemes apply to development within the PDA. Where a PDA development scheme includes the option for the payment of a monetary contribution in lieu of the supply of affordable housing, a proponent may enter into an agreement with the Minister for Economic Development Queensland (MEDQ) to waive the payment of the monetary contribution on the provision of an alternative supply of affordable housing. The alternative supply of affordable housing may be located outside of the relevant PDA if the terms of the housing agreement are acceptable to the MEDQ.

The regulation provides the criteria for the types of housing that meets the Economic Development Act 2012 definition of affordable housing. Once the regulation is made, affordable housing for the purposes of the PDA development schemes will be informed by the criteria in the regulation. However the power to condition affordable housing on PDA development permits would be limited by what is required by the PDA development scheme.

For affordable housing conditions to be imposed the relevant PDA development instrument will need to include specific requirements for the supply of social housing, affordable housing, or a monetary contribution in lieu of the supply of social and/or affordable housing. 

Certain PDA development schemes already include requirements for the provision of affordable housing. In these PDAs, processes have been established to ensure development meets these requirements. EDQ will continue to apply these established processes until such time that EDQ amends the relevant PDA development scheme to change the requirements for affordable housing or to introduce the option of paying a monetary contribution in lieu of providing housing.

Any proposed amendment to an existing PDA development scheme will be publicly notified, allowing interested stakeholders to have a say before any new obligations are imposed.

The criteria proposed to be including in the Economic Development Regulation 2023 (the ED amendment regulation) apply for the relevant functions and powers of the Economic Development Act 2012. The criteria for State Facilitated Development will be set out in the Planning Regulation 2017 and will apply for the relevant functions and powers under the Planning Act 2016.

The proposed criteria for the ED amendment regulation align with the proposed criteria for the planning regulation to the extent possible given the different legislative frameworks and policy contexts. 

Subsidies for non-market affordable housing may come from a range of programs funded by different entities including federal, state and local governments. This may also include EDQ.

While the specific engagement approach on updates to PDA guideline 16 is yet to be determined, EDQ is committed to working with industry and affected stakeholders on each of the components to EDQ’s affordable housing policy framework including updates to PDA guideline 16 and provisions related to the distribution of affordable housing across the income bands.

The criteria do not apply to local planning schemes.

The regulation will establish criteria for housing that is affordable to particular household types. EDQ is proposing that the criteria relate to households in the low to moderate income range, as well as first home buyers and keyworkers (to the extent they are not captured by the low to moderate income range). Retirees and Retirement living is not captured as a specific household type in EDQ’s currently proposed criteria.

Determining median household income at a LGA level, rather than a SA2 or suburb level, was considered by EDQ to be a balanced position that better reflects the diversity of Queensland’s communities. Narrowing the catchment to a suburb or SA2 level could result in affordability measures reinforcing existing suburb demographics rather than being relative to the needs of the local government area at large.

Not all existing PDA development schemes require a needs analysis or an amendment to be made. Existing approaches to delivering affordable housing in certain PDAs are operating effectively and do not require further amendment at this stage. EDQ will seek to first implement the policy in new PDAs and in existing PDAs where the current policy is not operating effectively to deliver affordable housing outcomes.

Household income as reported by the Australian Bureau of Statistics includes single income households and single person households. Household income was adopted as the appropriate measure as it best reflects a household’s capacity to pay for housing.

The low to moderate income range of between 50% - 120% of the median household income represents a variety of household types and would include single person / single income household as well as other household types. 

The median household income will be determined based on the Australian Bureau of Statistics publication for the most recent census year and indexed in accordance with the ‘All Sectors Wage Price Index, Queensland’ published by the Australian Bureau of statistics.

The median household income will be determined at a Local Government Area level, rather than a suburb, SA2, regional or state-wide level. This was considered by EDQ to be a balanced position that better reflects the diversity of Queensland’s communities' capacity to pay for housing.