Faith Housing Australia is not a housing provider or direct support service. Click here to find crisis services nationwide.
Across NSW, former hospitals, aged care facilities, hotels, surplus land and development sites are sitting vacant while communities face acute housing need.
Meanwhile use housing offers a practical, fast and partnership-based response: temporarily activating vacant or underused buildings for crisis, transitional or low-cost accommodation while the property awaits redevelopment, sale or future use.
Faith Housing Australia is calling for targeted land tax reform so more landowners, developers, community housing providers and homelessness services can partner to bring these sites into use.
Meanwhile use can deliver housing faster than new construction, using buildings and land that already exist.
FHA members and partners have already demonstrated what is possible, including the Inner West Project at the former Ashfield Hospital, which has delivered around 100 beds through cross-sector collaboration.
The NSW Government has already recognised the potential of this model through the Homelessness Innovation Fund, temporary housing planning pathways and streamlined approval settings. But current land tax rules still make many meanwhile use projects harder to deliver.
Current NSW land tax settings were not designed for temporary, supported or crisis accommodation.
The existing low-cost accommodation exemption is limited by rules that do not reflect how meanwhile use housing actually works, including:
These rules can make it financially unattractive for private landowners to make vacant sites available for housing, even where there is strong goodwill and community benefit.
Faith Housing Australia is not seeking a new exemption.
We are calling for targeted amendments to the existing low-cost accommodation provisions so they can support safe, accountable and time-limited housing partnerships.
Remove the 5 km radius restriction and apply eligibility statewide.
Replace the residential tenancy agreement requirement with a flexible lawful occupancy agreement.
Replace the six-month continuous tenancy rule with a 12-month minimum qualifying period for the premises.
Shift from a single-tenant test to a premises-based use test.
Require a formal partnership with a registered Community Housing Provider, Aboriginal Housing Manager or Specialist Homelessness Service.
This reform would help NSW:
Activate vacant and underused assets quickly.
Reduce reliance on expensive temporary accommodation.
Unlock private sector participation.
Support crisis and transitional housing pathways.
Extend opportunity beyond inner Sydney to regional NSW, suburbs and growth corridors.
Maintain accountability through registered housing and homelessness partners.
Get involved
Faith Housing Australia is building support for this reform from housing providers, homelessness services, faith communities, landowners, developers, peak bodies, philanthropy and the private sector.
You can support the campaign by:
Faith Housing Australia is partnering with Housing All Australians (HAA) to help unlock housing opportunities across Australia. HAA brings together a network of private sector organisations that donate professional expertise, project support and, in some cases, materials and services to help make housing projects feasible.
By connecting organisations with HAA’s business-led network, projects that may otherwise struggle to proceed can be supported through volunteer contributions, reduced delivery costs and cross-sector collaboration.
Together, FHA and HAA are working to identify opportunities, build partnerships and accelerate practical housing outcomes for communities across Australia.
Do you own, manage or know of a vacant building that could be used for housing?
Have you tried to activate a meanwhile use project and encountered barriers?
Are you a peak body, provider, developer or community organisation that supports practical housing reform?
We would welcome your support.
Learn from these successful Meanwhile Use projects – COMING SOON
This page will be updated as the campaign progresses, including policy briefings, partner statements, case studies and opportunities to support reform.
Faith Housing Australia is not a housing provider or a direct support service.
If you are seeking emergency accommodation, visit Link2Home.
