Western Sydney University co-leads new statewide NSW Affordable Housing Network to tackle the housing crisis

Western Sydney University is helping lead a new statewide collaboration to address one of the state’s most urgent challenges: housing affordability, supply, and long-term resilience.

The NSW Affordable Housing Network brings together eight universities - Western Sydney University, University of Newcastle, UNSW, University of Sydney, University of Technology Sydney, University of Wollongong, Macquarie University, and Australian Catholic University - to develop a coordinated research-and-training platform designed to deliver practical, evidence-based solutions for government, industry and communities.

Established in 2026 after the NSW Vice-Chancellors Committee and the Waratah Research Network identified affordable housing as a critical cross-cutting priority, the Network responds to sustained pressure across the state’s housing system, including persistent undersupply of affordable and social housing, rising construction costs, skills shortages and growing concerns about climate resilience and housing quality.

Network Coordinator Dr Ehsan Noroozinejad, a housing policy expert and the Global Challenge Lead based at the University’s Urban Transformations Research Centre, said the crisis is complex and extends beyond supply.

“The housing crisis is complex. While supply is important, it’s also critically about planning and infrastructure alignment, construction capacity, quality, climate resilience, and ensuring solutions work for communities experiencing housing stress and homelessness,” said Dr Noroozinejad.

The Network’s formation comes amid sustained pressure in NSW’s housing system, including persistent undersupply of affordable and social housing, cost escalation and skills shortages in construction, and increasing concerns about climate resilience and the quality of new and existing housing.

The scale of the challenge is significant. Sydney needs nearly 900,000 new homes by 2041, vacancy rates are below 1 per cent, and housing stress is affecting a significant share of renters.

Designed around an integrated “capability chain”, the Network links research, training, delivery partners and policy influence to accelerate real-world affordable housing outcomes. It will act as a coordinated platform with the depth to co-design solutions, test them in practice, and translate evidence into implementation at scale.

The Network will also support structured engagement with decision-makers, including briefings, roundtables and rapid evidence notes, and aims to partner on demonstration and pilot projects with government, community housing providers and industry.

A flagship initiative under the Network is the Affordable Housing Doctoral Training Network (AHDN), a multi-university doctoral training centre designed to build a pipeline of highly skilled researchers and future leaders across housing policy, planning, finance, construction and social outcomes, with PhD topics co-designed with government, industry and community partners.

A streamlined governance model is proposed, including an Academic Program Committee (doctoral curriculum, supervision standards and cohort activities) and an Advisory Committee to support regular engagement with Parliament, Cabinet offices, local government, non-profit housing providers, financial institutions and community organisations.

“For NSW Government and parliamentary stakeholders, the Network is intended to provide a single-entry point to expertise across NSW universities, deliver timely non-partisan evidence, help de-risk innovation through evaluation, and strengthen NSW’s reputation as a leader in affordable, sustainable and resilient housing,” added Dr Noroozinejad.

For more information, please visit: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nsw-ahn

ENDS.

26 February 2026
Photo credit: Adobe Stock
Media Unit