National cabinet agrees to build 1.2m new homes in bid to tackle housing crisis

PM Anthony Albanese told reporters in Brisbane that ‘supply is the key to putting downward pressure [on rent] and assisting renters’. Photograph: Darren England/AAP

States and territories will receive a “new home bonus” of up to $3bn if they help reach an updated target of 1.2m new homes over five years, the national cabinet has agreed.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, announced on Wednesday that the incentive payment will give jurisdictions $15,000 for every home delivered above the old target of 1m homes over five years from July 2024 in a bid to boost supply and improve affordability.