The Cook and Albanese Labor Governments are partnering to deliver another 481 new affordable and social homes across two major residential developments in East Fremantle and Subiaco, the Subi development being the biggest and the East Freo one beautifully situated near the Derbarl Yerrigan and within walking distance of local amenities and the Port. This announcement today follows the social housing initiative recently announced for North Coogee.
As spokespersons for the two Governments say, this marks an important step in the delivery of more high-quality affordable and social housing in the Perth metropolitan area. Josh Wilson, Federal MP for Fremantle, said –
“The sensible and well-planned integration of community and social housing within all our communities is not merely a practical solution to an urgent need – it is also an approach that reflects our collective values and commitment to fairness, social inclusion, and shared wellbeing.”
The State Government today announced preferred community housing providers (CHP) for the two developments.
Tier 1 Community Housing Provider (CHP), Foundation Housing Limited, has been selected to deliver and operate the East Street development in East Fremantle. This project will be a three-storey, 34-dwelling building on the corner of East Street and Canning Highway, near Glyde Street, and has been supported under the second round of Federal Government’s Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF).
The East Street development will include 19 one-bedroom and 15 two-bedroom dwellings.
The 3,665 square metre East Freo development site was selected as part of the Cook Government’s Housing Diversity Pipeline, which is maximising the potential of lazy government land to bolster social and affordable housing.
Subscribers to Fremantle Shipping News will be familiar with the East Freo site. It fronts Canning Highway just east of the Containerbow and close to the Derbarl Yerrigan. Here’s the site in its present unimproved state.
And here are artists’ impressions of the proposed development.
Supported through the first round of the HAFF, Court Place is in the Subi East precinct and is set to deliver 447 new homes, including 300 affordable and 147 social homes in a prime location just four kilometres from the Perth CBD.
Subi East is a major State Government urban redevelopment project set to transform the land around Subiaco Oval into a vibrant mixed-use residential community with more than 1,000 new homes, as well as public parks, pedestrian-friendly green links, and civic spaces.
Court Place’s current design includes 288 one-bedroom apartments, 139 two-bedroom apartments, around 20 three-bedroom apartments with around 300 square metres of commercial tenancies at ground level.
Community Housing Limited (CHL), a Tier 1 national CHP, has been selected as the preferred proponent to deliver, own and operate Court Place, following a competitive procurement process in 2024.
All up, very impressive.
Credit where credit is due, to the Federal and State Governments.
By way of reminder, HAFF has a goal of 20,000 social homes and 20,000 affordable homes over five years. There have been two rounds of funding so far. Round One (2024)delivered 4,283 social and 9,366 affordable homes.
Round Two (2025) has 5,001 social homes, mostly through partnerships with CHPs.
The Cook Government has now secured more than $1.9 billion in Federal Government funding through HAFF to deliver 2,031 new affordable and 1,222 new social homes across Western Australia.
Construction on both projects is expected to start in 2026.
* By Michael Barker, Editor, Fremantle Shipping News
~ If you’d like to COMMENT on this or any of our stories, don’t hesitate to email our Editor.
~ WHILE YOU’RE HERE –
PLEASE HELP US TO GROW FREMANTLE SHIPPING NEWS
FSN is a reader-supported, volunteer-assisted online magazine all about Fremantle. Thanks for helping to keep FSN keeping on!
~ Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to receive your free copy of The Weekly Edition of the Shipping News each Friday!