The Government’s Infrastructure Acceleration Fund (IAF) was launched in June 2021. It is a fund of approximately $1 billion to support new or upgraded bulk infrastructure – such as roading, three waters and flood management – to enable new homes to be built in areas of high housing need.

Administered by Kāinga Ora, the IAF is designed to help increase the pace and scale of housing delivery by funding critical infrastructure needed for developments.

Applications to the IAF have now closed.

IAF funding allocations

To date, $908 million in IAF funding has been allocated to critical infrastructure projects in cities and towns across the country, from the Far North to Otago. Combined, these IAF-funded projects are expected to enable around 30,000 to 35,000 new homes for New Zealanders over the next 10 to 15 years.

Rotorua

Ōmokoroa

Ōtaki

Maraenui

Kaikōura

Gisborne

New Plymouth

  • Funding amount: $1.8 million
  • Infrastructure type: Three waters and transport
  • Dwellings enabled: 300
  • Read more under Taranaki

Lower Hutt

Nelson

Lake Hāwea

Hastings

Rangiora

Ngāruawāhia

  • Funding amount: $5.32 million
  • Infrastructure type: Three waters and transport
  • Dwellings enabled: 200
  • Read more under Waikato

Motueka

Whanganui

Hamilton

  • Funding amount: $150.6 million
  • Infrastructure type: Three waters and transport
  • Dwellings enabled: 4,140
  • Read more under Waikato

Auckland (Mt Albert)

Tauranga (Tauriko West)

Tauranga (Te Papa Peninsula)

Christchurch

Kawakawa

Kaikohe

Westport

Auckland (Ōrākei)

Waipukurau

Hokitika

Pahiatua

Whangārei

The IAF is funding infrastructure projects in multiple regions, including large urban areas and smaller centres with high housing need. Read more about the IAF-funded projects in the regional breakdown below.

How were the projects chosen for funding? 

The IAF was launched by the Government as a contestable fund in June 2021. It received a great response from territorial authorities, developers and iwi, with more than 200 applications received during the initial Expressions of Interest period.

Following a robust evaluation process, over 80 applicants were invited to submit a more detailed response to a Request for Proposal (RFP) by December 2021.

In April 2022, 35 of those proposals were invited to enter the final stage, which involved further due diligence and commercial negotiation.

The evaluation process was led by Kāinga Ora and involved input from other Government agencies, with final funding decisions made by the Ministers of Housing and Finance. 

All proposals were assessed against key criteria set by Cabinet:

  • Housing outcomes (40%): how will the Proposal, if delivered, contribute to the housing outcomes that are the purpose of the IAF?
  • Impact of funding (20%): how critical is this funding to advancing the infrastructure and housing development?
  • Cost and co-funding (20%): how cost effective is the Proposal and is everyone paying their fair share?
  • Capability and readiness (20%): if funding is approved, how certain is it that the project will advance, and at what pace?

Landowners are expected to pay their fair share, and funding from councils and others is required for the housing developments to be realised. 

Latest media releases and Government announcements

Frequently asked questions

Who is responsible for delivering the infrastructure and building the homes?

The councils are typically the recipients of the funding, and are responsible for delivering the IAF-funded infrastructure. They will work in partnership with developers and iwi, who will build the homes.

The IAF is designed to help councils, iwi and developers overcome the first hurdle – funding for infrastructure. Necessary services like pipes and roads need to be completed before homes can be constructed. 

When will the infrastructure works start?

This is just the start of the journey for the IAF-enabled works, and timeframes are dependent on the extent of the infrastructure required. Progress on individual projects will be actively monitored by Kāinga Ora during the delivery phase, to ensure milestones are reached and outcomes achieved.

Funding will be made available as the infrastructure projects reach key milestones.  

What type of homes will be enabled?

The infrastructure works funded by the IAF are expected to enable a range of housing developments throughout Aotearoa, including intensification and greenfield developments with a mix of housing types. Affordable, market, public and papakāinga homes are among the planned housing outcomes.    

Can I still submit an application to the IAF?

Applications to the IAF have now closed. Territorial authorities, developers and iwi were invited to apply.

More information

Page updated: 29 February 2024