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Tweed Affordable Housing Strategy

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Project update: 19 April 2024

This project is now closed. Thank you to everyone who provided feedback. You can follow this project page to receive project updates.

What's happening?

Council declared a housing emergency in 2021 in response to unprecedented pressures on housing affordability and accessibility to affordable rental and rent-to-buy housing.

A plan for affordable housing is being developed alongside a strategy for managing Tweed's growth and housing, the Growth Management and Housing Strategy 2041, which identifies locations where housing diversity could exist (including affordable and social housing).

The plan aims to give clear direction to Council and support community housing providers (CHPs) towards unlocking opportunities for affordable housing.

The plan will focus on opportunities that are aimed at making more housing affordable.

This phase (3) of the draft Affordable Housing Strategy is open for community feedback until 4pm, 19 April 2024.

What is affordable housing and why do we need it?

Affordable housing is rental housing, for those on very low, or low to median incomes, priced so these households can meet their other essential basic living costs such as food, health care and transport. Housing is considered affordable if it costs less than 30% of gross household income.

Social housing is housing for those who are on the NSW Housing Register and are mostly managed by State Government Agencies and Community Housing Providers.

Why do we need more affordable housing across the Tweed?

Without intervention, the shortage of affordable housing will only increase:

  • There are an estimated 529 homeless people in the Tweed with a growing number of people living in boarding houses, other temporary lodgings, or severely crowded dwellings.
  • Rough sleepers represent the largest number of people experiencing homelessness (rough sleepers are people living in improvised dwellings, tents or sleeping out.)
  • There is a group of ‘new vulnerable’ individuals and families who, even though employed, find that they cannot afford a mortgage or rental property.
  • Average weekly rents are at least double the affordable rate for low and very low-income households with 47% of households experiencing rental stress.

The challenge ahead

Although many people want affordable housing, there simply isn't enough available.

Currently across the Tweed:

  • Affordable and social housing only make up 2.9% of total dwellings.
  • There is an unmet demand of 1,118 dwellings for social housing, and 2,655 dwellings for affordable housing.
  • There are no definite plans for providing more social and affordable housing in the future.
  • Future supply of affordable housing consists of both residential and retirement units which are funded by private investment.
  • There are no plans for future supply of social housing, crisis housing, caravan parks, Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA), Supported Accommodation (SA), and student accommodation.

What we are looking for community feedback on

We need to find new and better ways to work together with government, industry, social and community services, and private businesses. We also need to work with the community.

We are seeking community feedback on the following:

  • How do you feel about new social and affordable housing development potentially being integrated within your neighbourhood?
  • Would you accept higher density forms of housing, which is essential for financial feasibility?
  • Can you think of potential solutions or options to improve the supply and choice of social and affordable housing?
  • Have you considered what other ways may exist to support very low to low-income earners in terms of accessing housing and essential support services?

How to have your say

Complete the online 'Affordable Housing' community survey before 4pm, 19 April 2024.

Alternatively, provide your feedback by downloading and printing a hard copy of the survey then returning it by:

  • Email: tsc@tweed.nsw.gov.au.
  • Mail: The General Manager, Tweed Shire Council, PO Box 816, Murwillumbah NSW 2484.
  • In person to the Tweed or Murwillumbah Council offices.

What happens next?

We are working on the Affordable Housing Strategy in four phases, with help from the Elected Council, Community Housing Providers and input from the community.

Right now we are in Phase 3, having already begun to understand the scope of the problems facing Tweed and the different ways we could partner with others to make things better.

We are looking at the potential feasibility of key policy actions and if the private housing industry could afford to help provide the social and affordable housing that's urgently needed.

Phase 4 is when we will draft the strategy and present it to the community so you can tell us what you think about it. Estimated timeframe for public exhibition is September 2024.


Project update: 19 April 2024

This project is now closed. Thank you to everyone who provided feedback. You can follow this project page to receive project updates.

What's happening?

Council declared a housing emergency in 2021 in response to unprecedented pressures on housing affordability and accessibility to affordable rental and rent-to-buy housing.

A plan for affordable housing is being developed alongside a strategy for managing Tweed's growth and housing, the Growth Management and Housing Strategy 2041, which identifies locations where housing diversity could exist (including affordable and social housing).

The plan aims to give clear direction to Council and support community housing providers (CHPs) towards unlocking opportunities for affordable housing.

The plan will focus on opportunities that are aimed at making more housing affordable.

This phase (3) of the draft Affordable Housing Strategy is open for community feedback until 4pm, 19 April 2024.

What is affordable housing and why do we need it?

Affordable housing is rental housing, for those on very low, or low to median incomes, priced so these households can meet their other essential basic living costs such as food, health care and transport. Housing is considered affordable if it costs less than 30% of gross household income.

Social housing is housing for those who are on the NSW Housing Register and are mostly managed by State Government Agencies and Community Housing Providers.

Why do we need more affordable housing across the Tweed?

Without intervention, the shortage of affordable housing will only increase:

  • There are an estimated 529 homeless people in the Tweed with a growing number of people living in boarding houses, other temporary lodgings, or severely crowded dwellings.
  • Rough sleepers represent the largest number of people experiencing homelessness (rough sleepers are people living in improvised dwellings, tents or sleeping out.)
  • There is a group of ‘new vulnerable’ individuals and families who, even though employed, find that they cannot afford a mortgage or rental property.
  • Average weekly rents are at least double the affordable rate for low and very low-income households with 47% of households experiencing rental stress.

The challenge ahead

Although many people want affordable housing, there simply isn't enough available.

Currently across the Tweed:

  • Affordable and social housing only make up 2.9% of total dwellings.
  • There is an unmet demand of 1,118 dwellings for social housing, and 2,655 dwellings for affordable housing.
  • There are no definite plans for providing more social and affordable housing in the future.
  • Future supply of affordable housing consists of both residential and retirement units which are funded by private investment.
  • There are no plans for future supply of social housing, crisis housing, caravan parks, Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA), Supported Accommodation (SA), and student accommodation.

What we are looking for community feedback on

We need to find new and better ways to work together with government, industry, social and community services, and private businesses. We also need to work with the community.

We are seeking community feedback on the following:

  • How do you feel about new social and affordable housing development potentially being integrated within your neighbourhood?
  • Would you accept higher density forms of housing, which is essential for financial feasibility?
  • Can you think of potential solutions or options to improve the supply and choice of social and affordable housing?
  • Have you considered what other ways may exist to support very low to low-income earners in terms of accessing housing and essential support services?

How to have your say

Complete the online 'Affordable Housing' community survey before 4pm, 19 April 2024.

Alternatively, provide your feedback by downloading and printing a hard copy of the survey then returning it by:

  • Email: tsc@tweed.nsw.gov.au.
  • Mail: The General Manager, Tweed Shire Council, PO Box 816, Murwillumbah NSW 2484.
  • In person to the Tweed or Murwillumbah Council offices.

What happens next?

We are working on the Affordable Housing Strategy in four phases, with help from the Elected Council, Community Housing Providers and input from the community.

Right now we are in Phase 3, having already begun to understand the scope of the problems facing Tweed and the different ways we could partner with others to make things better.

We are looking at the potential feasibility of key policy actions and if the private housing industry could afford to help provide the social and affordable housing that's urgently needed.

Phase 4 is when we will draft the strategy and present it to the community so you can tell us what you think about it. Estimated timeframe for public exhibition is September 2024.


  • Community Engagement Summary

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    Affordable Housing Strategy - what you told us.

    Thank you to all residents who participated in the recent Affordable Housing community survey. Overall, 230 online responses were received via Your Say Tweed.

    The community survey was open for feedback from 6 March to 19 April 2024 to understand how residents of the Tweed felt about Affordable Housing. The survey focused on four key questions:

    • How do you feel about new social and affordable housing development potentially being integrated within your neighbourhood?
    • Would you accept higher density forms of housing, which is essential for financial feasibility?
    • Can you think of potential solutions or options to improve the supply and choice of social and affordable housing?
    • Have you considered what other ways may exist to support very low to low-income earners in terms of accessing housing and essential support services?

    In response 80% of respondents feel social and affordable housing is somewhat to very urgent.

    The top 3 key concerns respondents have about future housing within the Tweed are:

    • the next generation’s ability to buy/rent a house (150 respondents)
    • that they may have to move out of the area (67 respondents)
    • that they can’t/won’t be able to afford to buy a house (62 respondents)

    When asked where affordable and social housing is best located responses stated:

    • In every village and town (115 respondents)
    • Only in larger communities which are well serviced - Tweed Heads, Kingscliff and Murwillumbah (81 respondents)
    • In emerging areas such as Cobaki, Kings Forest and Bilambil Heights (81 respondents)
    • 52 respondents stated other.

    Overall, 49.8% of respondents would be happy to live next door to an affordable housing development, while 31.6% said they would not and 18.6% were unsure.

    In response to overall acceptance of more diverse housing types to be developed Tweed’s neighbourhoods to meet different housing needs 60.6% of respondents said yes, 29% said no and 10.4% were unsure.

    The next stage of this project is to review all findings and analysis and develop a draft strategy for Affordable Housing in the Tweed which will be placed on public exhibition for further comment and review.

Page last updated: 30 Apr 2024, 04:07 PM