This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
THE NSW Minns Labor government will deliver 500 apartments on an old WestConnex site in Camperdown, including 200 built-to-rent units for health workers, paramedics, teachers, police officers, firefighters and other essential workers to be offered at a discount to market rent.
Government developer Landcom will deliver the project. The site was identified under the state’s land audit which set out to find surplus government land that had been sitting unused and could be used to develop some 7,000 homes. Landcom and Homes NSW were given first pick of the land audit sites.
This will be the first site to be developed by Landcom as part of the government’s $450 million investment to deliver more than 400 build-to-rent homes.
The site is close to the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, transport, public spaces, amenities and education and health centres, and will also feature ground-floor retail and commercial, landscaped outdoor spaces and new pedestrian links.
“Essential workers are feeling the impact of the immense cost of housing and many can’t afford to live near their jobs. That’s why our plan is delivering this well-located, secure and accessible rental housing for the essential workers who keep Sydney running,” NSW Premier Chris Minns said, adding, “The very least we can do is make sure that they have access to the housing they need, near their jobs at an affordable price”.
“The former WestConnex dive site in Sydney’s Inner West has sat unused for years and thanks to our plan to identify vacant land, it will now to deliver housing for essential workers close to their jobs.”
An Aware Super report found that a chronic shortage of affordable housing for essential workers located near their workplace in Australia’s capital cities is costing the nation $64 billion.
Construction at the Camperdown site is expected to begin in 2026, pending approvals, with the first essential workers moving in around 2028. The NSW government will retain ownership of the build-to-rent housing. Details about eligibility criteria, how to apply and the rental subsidy will be available closer to project completion, the NSW govt said.
There will be no social housing in the development. The proportions of market and affordable housing are yet to be decided.
NSW has 3,584 build-to-rent apartments completed or under construction and 11,505 in the pipeline, with the total number of units totalling 15,089, which has seen the state recently overtake Queensland, according to Knight Frank. Australia’s build-to-rent universe has been mostly centred in Melbourne, but investors are tipped to increasingly look towards Sydney in 2025.
Landcom is investigating additional sites under the government initiative. It is also expected to start construction this year on 110 build-to-rent units in NSW’s Northern Rivers and South Coast.
“Expanding on our existing build-to-rent program in regional NSW, Landcom is stepping up to address the housing crisis head on with well-located, well-designed and secure housing for essential workers,” Landcom CEO Alex Wendler said.
”This is about providing much-needed affordable housing for the next generation of Sydneysiders so they can continue to live and work in their local areas,” Minister for Housing Rose Jackson said.
Mayor of Inner West Council Darcy Bryne said, ”We desperately need more affordable housing for essential workers in the inner West and this project will make a real dent in the problem.”
“For years people have talked about the Parramatta Road corridor as being an ideal location for higher density housing, this project will actually make that happen.”
Meanwhile, a national digital platform that can unlock private sector investment in sorely-needed essential worker housing is gaining industry support, as governments continue to struggle with the size and scope of Australia’s housing crisis. Housing All Australians is a national private sector “for purpose” organisation and registered charity. In collaboration with PEXA it has engineered Australia’s first digital essential worker housing register, which integrates with HAA’s Progressive Residential Affordability Development Solution (PRADS). PRADS is now searchable on realestate.com.au for essential workers.
