“We’ve got a series of projects we’d want to put forward in the initial rounds,which could support up to 570 homes,and we’ve got others that would support up to 1000 homes in 12 to 18 months,” he said.

“We hope now that the other elements are provided soon,and we look forward to working with governments of all levels to get keys in doors.”

Large institutional investors will also start looking at affordable housing now there is greater long-term certainty around the federal program.

Industry Super Australia deputy chief executive Matthew Linden said once the investment mandate was sorted and the housing fund started accepting proposals,investors such as super funds would be able to start evaluating those projects to see which might need additional capital.

“Under this program,there is at least a five-year pipeline and that’s really important for the scale that’s needed to justify the investment in what is a fairly new type of asset,” he said.

While it will take time for the government’s fund to start providing returns,it has separately earmarked billions of dollars to be spent on housing in the meantime.

That includes the $2 billion handed to state and territory governments on July 1 through the newSocial Housing Accelerator to help them build new homes or repair existing ones for Australians already on social housing waiting lists.

Maiy Azize,the spokesperson for housing campaign Everybody’s Home,said states and territories did not need to wait for the housing fund to be set up to start using that accelerator money,and the waiting list for social housing was lengthy.

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare figures show that in 2021-22,11 per cent of households waited five or more years to be allocated public housing,43 per cent waited one to five years and 46 per cent waited a year.

Azize noted that many public housing properties were currently uninhabitable due to a lack of maintenance,and that was an easy first step to getting more people into homes.

“Repairs are an obvious thing to do first,but there are also shovel-ready projects,” she said.

Azize added that the federal government would need to commit direct funding for social and affordable homes regularly on top of the housing fund to counter the housing crisis.

“We need to see investments like[the accelerator] every single year. The social housing shortfall is 640,000 homes,” she said.

The deal to secure the housing bills’ passage did not include the Greens’ demand for a cap on rents or a rent freeze,but the party’s housing spokesman,Max Chandler-Mather,said the fight was far from over.

“Over the next few years,over the next few months,you’re going to see what happens when the third of this country[that rents] stands up and fights back against the system that says property investors get $39 billion a year in tax concessions while renters basically get nothing,” he told parliament on Thursday.

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news,views and expert analysis from Jacqueline Maley. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter here.