Research scholarships

In the context of a persistent housing affordability crisis, governments in New South Wales (NSW) have placed increasing emphasis on accelerating housing supply as a central policy response. Planning reform, funding mechanisms and new delivery models have been positioned as key levers to increase the rate, scale and diversity of housing production, including affordable housing.

However, despite an unprecedented focus on supply acceleration, affordable housing delivery continues to face structural constraints related to:

• planning systems
• land availability
• infrastructure coordination
• financing arrangements
• development feasibility.

About the scholarship

The project will generate theoretical and applied knowledge on the effectiveness, limitations and unintended consequences of current approaches to housing supply acceleration, with a particular focus on how urban planning frameworks and funding models shape development outcomes.

Research may draw on policy and legislative analysis, institutional and governance analysis, financial modelling and qualitative or mixed-method case studies of affordable housing projects across NSW.

Potential PhD projects include, but are not limited to:

• the role of planning system reform in accelerating (or constraining) affordable housing delivery in NSW
• state-led planning interventions and their implications for affordable housing supply, location and quality
• funding and financing models for affordable housing, including government subsidies, value capture and cross-subsidy mechanisms
• the feasibility impacts of planning controls, density bonuses and inclusionary zoning on affordable housing outcomes
• infrastructure provision, sequencing and funding as constraints on accelerating affordable housing supply
• comparative analysis of affordable housing delivery models across NSW local government areas
• public, private and not-for-profit development partnerships and their capacity to scale affordable housing delivery
• the interaction between land values, development viability and affordable housing targets.

The research is expected to make a substantive contribution to academic debates on housing supply, planning and urban governance, while also delivering policy-relevant insights to support the accelerated provision of affordable housing in New South Wales.

Availability

This scholarship is available to eligible candidates to undertake a direct entry three-year PhD program.

Components

The scholarship comprises:

• a tuition fee offset/scholarship
• a living allowance stipend.

The value of each stipend scholarship is $39,700 per annum (full time, indexed) for three years.