A confidential review commissioned by Housing Australia raised serious concerns about governance and risk management as the agency rushed to deliver the federal government’s flagship $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund.
A Deloitte review ordered by former chief executive Nathan Dal Bon examined the agency’s operations as it began allocating billions of dollars in funding and tendering for the construction of 13,700 homes, the Australian Financial Review reported. While the findings were presented to the board and its audit and risk committee in September 2024, the report was never released publicly or circulated to senior executives.
At the centre of the review was the agency’s heavy reliance on a single senior official. Deloitte found that the rollout of the program depended almost entirely on the chief of staff, who coordinated tenders, lending decisions, application assessments, records management and communication with proponents. The report described this structure as a “high-risk approach” from a business continuity perspective, warning that the program’s success would be severely limited if that individual became unavailable.
The review also found Housing Australia had failed to develop overarching or program-level plans for its major funding schemes, despite those programs being open for six months. This lack of planning occurred as the agency accelerated implementation of Labor’s signature housing policy under tight political and delivery timelines.
Governance concerns extended to the independence of the audit and risk committee. Deloitte noted that the then chairwoman attended meetings of the committee, creating a risk that it was not operating with sufficient independence from the board. The report further observed that committee work was, at times, influenced by non-members and later reconsidered by the same directors for board approval, blurring the line between governance and management.
Performance data highlighted the pressure of the accelerated rollout. In the year to June, Housing Australia signed contracts covering 279 projects for 18,650 homes. By October, only 3,315 projects had progressed to the stage where public funding could be accessed. Over the same period, the agency reduced its workforce by roughly one-quarter.
Despite the severity of the findings, subsequent audit and risk committee meetings declined to strengthen governance arrangements, citing alignment with Finance Department guidelines. While non-members attended those meetings, Housing Australia said they did not hold voting rights.
Former chairwoman Carol Austin resigned in October, midway through her term, following an investigation into bullying allegations, which she denied. A redacted report tabled in the Senate found no breaches of rules. The government has yet to appoint a replacement.
Housing Australia and the Housing Minister’s office have defended the program, emphasising that controls were prioritised during rollout and that the Future Fund remains focused on delivering more social and affordable homes at scale. A third and final construction tender has now opened as the agency works toward the government’s target of 40,000 homes by 2029.
Housing sector leaders say the governance issues should not overshadow the value of new housing supply, but stress the importance of independent oversight. Experts note that similar concerns were raised in a 2021 audit of Housing Australia’s predecessor, suggesting longstanding challenges in maintaining clear separation between board oversight and management execution.
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