UWA wins funds for new student housing

The University of Western Australia will receive more than $9 million each year in state and federal incentives to build and provide affordable accommodation for up to 1,000 students.

Federal Sustainability and Communities Minister Tony Burke announced the Commonwealth government, in partnership with WA's state government, would support the construction of self-contained apartments at Crawley, Nedlands and Claremont under the National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS).

"The Gillard government understands there is a shortage of rental properties around the country and that's why we are investing in affordable housing for Australian communities and families," Mr Burke said.

"Providing targeted accommodation for students improves the supply of affordable rental housing in suburbs surrounding universities."

The proposed development will consist of five three-storey buildings located along Winthrop Avenue, Park Avenue and Fairway Lane in Crawley, Park Road in Nedlands and Goldsworthy Road in Claremont.

The first units are under construction at UWA's Currie Hall, and it is expected 400 apartments will be available for students by the start of the 2012 academic year.

The remaining projects will be completed by mid-2012.

"We are delighted to receive these residential places because we are very keen to accommodate our students close to the university where they will be able to get the full benefit of the university experience, academically and socially," UWA Vice Chancellor Alan Robson said.

"The NRAS funding will enable us to offer student housing at affordable prices ensuring better equity and access to a university education, particularly for regional and rural students."

Under the NRAS, participants are able to earn $6,855 per dwelling, per year as a refundable tax offset or payment from the federal government, and $2,285 per dwelling, per year in direct financial support from the state government.

The incentive is provided on the condition that over a ten-year period the dwelling is rented at 20 per cent below market rates to eligible low- to moderate-income households.

Based on those figures, if UWA provides 1,000 dwellings, it will receive around $6.8 million each year from the federal government, and approximately $2.3 million each year from the state government.

UWA said it had accepted state government conditions to allocate priority to students from a low socio-economic background, Indigenous students, students from rural and isolated areas of WA, students with disabilities and women enrolled in non-traditional disciplines such as engineering or computer science.

Housing Minister Troy Buswell said more than 3,100 NRAS incentives had been supported in WA, with more expected in the future.

"NRAS has been very successful in this state, demonstrated by the fact we have 17,000 applications vying for the remaining 1,900 places," Mr Buswell said.

"Due to this success I have written to the Federal Minister to request an additional 5,000 NRAS incentives for WA."