Shoalhaven Affordable Housing Strategy

15 June 2026

At the June 2026 Meeting of Council’s Affordable Housing Action Taskforce, Taskforce Members received an overview of:

• Council’s advocacy efforts,
• Homes NSW’s Homes for NSW Strategy 2025-2035, and
• The Urban Development Institute of Australia’s research findings – From Approvals to Apartments.

Taskforce members also received an update on the implementation of Strategy Action 1.1 – Audit of Council-owned Land for Affordable Housing Opportunities and examined potential activities to implement Strategy Action 1.5 – Development Assessment Support.

The agenda and minutes for the meeting are available on Council’s website.

9 March 2026

At the March 2026 Meeting of Council’s Affordable Housing Action Taskforce, Taskforce Members received an overview of:

• Council’s advocacy efforts,
• The NSW Government’s Affordable Housing Guidelines,
• The outcomes of the NSW Government inquiry into Essential Worker Housing, and
• The Nowra Precinct Renewal Strategy.

The Nowra Precinct Renewal Strategy is a collaborative project between Council, Homes NSW, and Southern Cross Housing, funded by the NSW Government’s Regional Housing Strategic Planning Fund. The Renewal Strategy will guide development and investment in the NSW Government’s housing portfolio in the Nowra area.

Taskforce Members also examined potential Strategic Principles for Affordable Housing to help implement Strategy Action 1.4 Developing Strategic Principles for Affordable Housing.

The agenda and minutes for the meeting are available on Council’s website.

20 February 2026

More than 60 people are set to move into brand new homes following the completion of a 39-unit complex at Bomaderry. The complex of 25 social homes and 14 affordable housing units will provide accommodation for approximately 60 people.

Council donated the land for the development following a recommendation from its previous Affordable Housing Strategy (settled in 2018). The NSW Government invested $4.8m in the project on top of the financial contribution of Southern Cross Housing. Southern Cross Housing now own and manage the complex.

Council is now examining other affordable housing opportunities provided by its land through the implementation of Strategy Action 1.1 – Audit of Council-owned Land for Affordable Housing Opportunities.

8 December 2025

At the December 2025 Meeting of Council’s Affordable Housing Action Taskforce, Taskforce Members received an overview of Shoalhaven’s housing statistics and the roles and responsibilities of agencies, organisations and stakeholders providing and managing affordable housing.

Taskforce members also prioritised the order in which the Affordable Housing Strategy’s short-term actions will be implemented and examined the criteria to guide the work on Action 1.1 Audit of Council-owned Land. The Taskforce set the following priority for implementing short-term actions:

1. Action 1.1 Complete a desktop audit of Council-owned land to identify opportunities for future affordable housing utilisation.
2. Action 1.4 Develop strategic principles for affordable housing.
3. Action 1.3 Consider planning and development controls to facilitate manufactured homes closer to urban centres.
4. Action 1.5 Provide dwelling assessment support to affordable and high-density housing development applications.
5. Action 1.7 Continue advocacy to the NSW Government and federal Government on affordable housing issues.
6. Action 1.6 Create a collaboration agreement with preferred Community Housing Providers.
7. Action 1.2 Implement an affordable housing contributions scheme.
8. Action 1.8 Run an education campaign about the benefits of affordable and diverse low-cost market housing.

The agenda and minutes for the meeting are available on Council’s website.

The first meeting of the Affordable Housing Action Taskforce will take place on Monday 22 September at the Nowra Administration Building from 4:00pm.

The taskforce is comprised of 15 community and industry representatives, the mayor and three councillors.

The taskforce has been established to support Council’s implementation of its Affordable Housing Strategy 2024 and will lead work to execute the actions set in the Strategy.

During the first meeting, members of the taskforce will be provided with an overview of the Affordable Housing Strategy, discuss the roles and responsibilities of agencies, organisations and stakeholders providing and managing affordable housing and will consider the Taskforce terms of reference.

The full agenda for the meeting is now available on Council’s website.

Elected Council considered the recommended membership and updated draft Terms of Reference for its Affordable Housing taskforce at its 17 June 2025 Ordinary Meeting.

Council appointed the Mayor as the Chairperson, Councillors Casmiri, Dunn and Tribe as voting members, and endorsed the Terms of Reference for the Taskforce.

Council did not settle the Taskforce’s membership, instead directing the Chairperson (the Mayor) and staff to review all expressions of interest and present their recommended membership for Council’s consideration at a future Ordinary Meeting.

We will notify all applicants and subscribers to this project webpage of the meeting date and how to view the business paper for the meeting.

The opportunity to submit an Expression of Interest to join Council’s Affordable Housing Taskforce has now ended.

Council’s assessment panel will review the applications received before presenting recommendations for membership of the taskforce to the elected Council in May.

All applicants will be notified of the success of their application.

Thank you for your interest in joining the taskforce.

Community members who can assist with the delivery of affordable housing across the city are invited to join a new taskforce that will help Council implement its Affordable Housing Strategy.

Expressions of Interest are now being sought for potential members that can help raise awareness, educate and advocate for much needed affordable housing in the Shoalhaven.

The group will also help guide work to implement the actions set in the strategy by leveraging the knowledge, skills, and connections of its members in the planning and delivery of affordable housing.

Council is seeking expressions of interest for membership (up to 10) for the following vacant positions:

• Three (3) community representatives (from north, central and south of the Local Government Area)
• One (1) Indigenous representative
• One (1) youth representative
• Five (5) representatives of relevant government agencies, community organisations, community housing providers, service providers and the development industry.

Interested community members must complete the expression of interest application form and email it to governance@shoalhaven.nsw.gov.au by 5pm on Wednesday 30 April.

For more information about the taskforce and its terms of reference, visit the Affordable Housing Action Taskforce webpage.

Council has now published the outcome of community feedback that helped inform the new Affordable Housing Strategy.

Residents were invited to have their say on the draft document during June and July this year. 38 submissions were received from community members, Community Consultative Bodies (CCBs), planning consultancies, licensed builders, and a variety of organisations including Shelter NSW and Southern Cross Housing.

Most of the submissions supported the preparation of the draft Strategy, the identified actions, and Council’s continued work to help deliver affordable housing. Several organisations offered to collaborate with Council on proposed advocacy, education, and feasibility testing activities.

Several submissions raised concerns about Council’s role in delivering or facilitating the supply of affordable housing, or objected to attempts to increase the amount of affordable housing locally.

The Summary and Consideration of Submissions and Council Response, which summarises the feedback received during the exhibition and Council’s consideration of it, can now be viewed in the Document Library.

The Housing Trust, a not-for-profit community housing provider, has published an Affordable Housing Scorecard judging the affordable housing commitments of the four councils in the Illawarra-Shoalhaven Region. Shoalhaven City Council received a "B" for:

• A contemporary plan to guide its work to address housing affordability.
• Committing to provide land for affordable rental housing.
• Proposing to waive development application fees for affordable rental housing projects.
• Confirming work to levy new development to provide affordable rental housing.

Further information is available on the Housing Trust's website (link).