Community Housing Provider Partnership Opportunity – HAFF Round 3

Community Housing Provider Partnership Opportunity – HAFF Round 3

Homes NSW is pleased to offer Community Housing Providers the opportunity to partner and co-invest with Homes NSW and bring forward new social housing projects, with potential funding support through the HAFF Round 3 States and Territories Stream.

Homes NSW is open to innovative social housing projects that meet HAFF Round 3 criteria, to deliver through partnerships. CHPs can provide proposals under our existing Direct Dealing pathway. 

The CHP Partnership Opportunity linked below outlines how this initiative is intended to leverage State Government investment and bring together complementary funding sources, capabilities, and shared values to increase social housing supply, strengthen and grow the CHP sector, and provide a more sustainable and resilient multi-provider housing system.

CHPs can submit proposals under our existing Direct Dealing pathway, with successful projects to be invited to be included in the Homes NSW HAFF Round 3 State Stream application, by no later than June 2026.

Homes NSW will preference projects which meet the HAFF Round 3 and direct dealing eligibility and assessment criteria, and align to Homes NSW’s strategic objectives.

Application process

Homes NSW will be accepting applications from Tier 1 and 2 CHPs under the existing direct dealing pathway, outlined in the Homes NSW Assessment Framework for Property Direct Deals (PDF 510.95KB) with additional criteria to align with HAFF Round 3.

CHPs have the opportunity to have a pre-submission meeting with Homes NSW to discuss potential project ideas before submission. If you would like to arrange a meeting, please email directdealing@homes.nsw.gov.au by no later than 16 March 2026, with:

1. initial details of the projects you would like to discuss, and
2. three 30-minute timeslots, within business hours, on 19 or 20 March 2026.

How to apply

To apply, Community Housing Providers should review the information contained in the following documents:

• Homes NSW CHP Partnership Opportunity: HAFFF Round 3 States and Territories Stream (PDF 399.75KB)
• Homes NSW Direct Dealing Design Submission Material (PDF 183.73KB)
• Homes NSW Guidelines for Direct Dealing
• Homes NSW Assessment Framework for Property Direct Deals (PDF 510.95KB)
• HAFF – Social and Affordable Funding Round 3 Call for Submissions (available through the Housing Australia Portal)

Community Housing Providers will be required to complete and submit the following documents:

• Stage 1 Direct Dealing Proposal Form including HAFFF Round 3 Requirements with supporting documentation (DOCX 441.92KB)
• Completed Template Draft Commitment Letter (DOCX 56.61KB)
• Completed Design Quality Evaluation Checklist (XLSX 44.21KB)

Completed Proposal Forms with supporting documentation should be submitted to directdealing@homes.nsw.gov.au

Key dates

Key dates for the Community Housing Provider Partnership Opportunity under HAFF Round 3 State Stream are as follows:

• Pre-submission meetings (optional): 19–20 March 2026
• Closes: 5:00pm (AEST), 14 April 2026

Please note while the Direct Dealing pathway is always open to CHPs, proposals for inclusion in the Homes NSW HAFF Round 3 State Stream application are time limited to align with Housing Australia timeframes.