Homes Tasmania will continue relying on debt to build homes, Housing Minister Kerry Vincent says, after Labor accused the agency of having “maxed out its credit card”.
Labor MP Meg Brown told parliament on Wednesday the auditor-general had issued Homes Tasmania with “a going concern warning”.
The Franklin MP said the housing body had “racked up $142 million in losses” and could only keep operating with taxpayer support.
The auditor-general’s report, tabled on Tuesday, found Homes Tasmania, TT-Line and Metro Tasmania had all reported “material uncertainties” about their ability to continue as going concerns.
The report noted this did not change the audit opinion.
Homes Tasmania recorded a deficit of $52.66 million in 2025-26, up $15.94 million on the previous year, with a further $66.97 million loss budgeted for 2026-27.
Its $546 million borrowing limit with the Tasmanian Public Finance Corporation (Tascorp) was “fully utilised”.
In August, the Tascorp board approved an increase to $737 million, subject to the treasurer’s approval.
The agency received $172.92 million in government support in 2025-26, up $43.26 million on the previous year.
It also holds about $2.4 billion in rental and community housing assets.
“Homes Tasmania’s model is building homes and it’s based on debt. It’s not based on an immediate income,” Vincent said.
He said there was “no other way of doing it”, with rent capped at 25% of tenants’ income, limiting the agency’s return.
“So once again, it’s a slow drip that we have to feed with debt and that will continue to happen,” he said. “That’s our responsibility.”
Asked when he was first told about the financial concerns, Vincent said he had not seen the report until he received a draft “approximately a week ago”.
He later said the board, Treasury and cabinet were all “well aware of those pressures on borrowings and debt”.
Vincent said he had regular catch-ups on various matters but had received “no formal briefings” on Homes Tasmania’s finances.
“Either you knew and you didn’t call anybody or the board didn’t call you,” Brown said.
Vincent replied that the board was “always aware of their financial situation” and the government spoke with it “on a regular basis”.
He said 284 homes were under construction, with 130 due to be completed by Christmas “or very close to it”.
A further 965 homes were in the approval and pre-construction stages, while 754 were undergoing feasibility assessments.
Vincent said a recent meeting of housing ministers in Canberra showed governments across Australia were taking on debt to fill the housing gap.
