Investors looking at purpose built property have a genuine choice of state. So why does ACIGP build in Victoria?
The short answer is that Victoria combines relative affordability with strong population growth and, critically, corridors where the amenity investors need already exists or is being built. That combination is harder to find than it sounds.
What Is Different About 2026
Two things have changed the calculation this year, and both favour purpose built stock.
The first is tax. Under the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026, which received Royal Assent on 26 June 2026, negative gearing on residential property is being limited to new builds and to government housing priorities. An established investment property purchased after 7:30pm AEST on 12 May 2026 can only have its losses deducted against other residential property income, from the 2027 to 2028 income year. Purpose built NDIS, co-living and triple living stock is delivered as new build, so it sits on the retained side of that line.
The second is delivery. Build costs, certification timeframes and lending on purpose built property have all become harder over the past two years, which means the location decision matters more than it used to. A site that is expensive to build on, slow to certify or difficult to finance is a site that erodes the return before a tenant arrives.
Affordability Still Works Here
Victoria remains comparatively affordable against the eastern seaboard alternatives, which matters more than it might appear. Affordability is not just about the entry price. It determines how much of your capital a single asset consumes, how much deposit you need to raise, and whether the rental income the property produces makes sense against what you paid for it.
When entry prices are lower, the same dollar of rent represents a higher yield on what you paid, and less of your capital is tied up in a single asset for a comparable income stream. That is the practical version of the affordability argument, and it is the one that shows up in your numbers.
Population Growth Drives Everything Downstream
Victoria has been one of the strongest growing states in the country, and population growth is the underlying driver behind almost every other factor an investor cares about: rental demand, tenant availability, service provision, infrastructure spend and long term land value.
For NDIS and Specialist Disability Accommodation specifically, population growth also correlates with participant demand and with the presence of the support providers who make a dwelling viable to tenant.
What Victoria Offers NDIS and SDA
For Specialist Disability Accommodation, the location question is really a demand question. An SDA dwelling only earns when a participant whose approved funding matches its design category is living in it, and that participant needs their supports to work in that location.
That is why we build in corridors where the surrounding services already exist: medical and allied health, transport, retail and schools. Those services are what make independent living realistic for a participant, and they are also what attracts the support providers and coordinators who actually place people into dwellings. A compliant dwelling in an area with no provider presence is a much harder asset to fill, whatever its specification.
South east Melbourne’s growth corridors are where those two things overlap most clearly in Victoria: established amenity and provider activity, alongside land that still supports purpose built development at a workable cost.
What Victoria Offers Co-Living Specifically
Co-living depends on something different to SDA. It needs a steady supply of single tenants who want a private, furnished room with an ensuite rather than a whole house, and who value being close to work, study or transport more than they value floor space.
Melbourne’s student population, its service and hospitality workforce, and the growth corridors where new employment is arriving all produce exactly that tenant profile. Rental conditions across Victoria have also been tight, which supports demand for room by room accommodation at a price point below a full house.
The practical effect for an investor is that co-living has a genuine tenant pool here, drawn from the ordinary rental market rather than from a funding framework. That is what makes it a viable alternative for buyers who want purpose built income without NDIS policy exposure.
What Victoria Offers Triple Living
Triple living asks something else again. It puts three fully independent units, each with its own bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and living area, on one block under one title. That needs land at a price where three dwellings still stack up against a single purchase cost.
Victoria still offers parcels of that size at prices where a three unit build stacks up, particularly outside metropolitan Melbourne. The income logic follows from that. One property, one loan, one set of purchase costs, and three separate tenancies drawn from the local rental market. If one unit is between tenants, the other two keep producing, which is a different risk profile to a single dwelling that is either tenanted or empty.
We Build Where People Can Actually Live
The state is only half the decision. The location within it is the other half, and this is where site selection does the real work.
ACIGP builds in strategic locations chosen for what surrounds them:
- Schooling, so families and support workers have a reason to be in the area.
- Amenities, including shops, medical services, transport and recreation, which for SDA tenants is not a lifestyle nicety but a condition of independent living.
- Employment, because a location with work is a location with a functioning local economy.
There is a compounding effect here that is easy to miss. Purpose built developments themselves generate local activity: construction work during the build, then ongoing support work, allied health visits and services once the dwellings are tenanted. Building into growth corridors adds to the economy that makes those corridors work.
Regional Victoria Is Part of the Answer
Metropolitan Melbourne is not the only opportunity in the state. Regional Victoria offers larger land parcels at lower cost, which changes what you can build on a single title. That matters a great deal for triple living products, where you are placing three self contained dwellings on one block.
Ballarat and Bendigo are the two regional centres worth understanding first. Both are established cities with their own economies, health services, schools and transport connections, rather than small towns with a growth story attached. We will cover both in detail in an upcoming article.
What This Means for You
Choosing a state is a risk decision as much as a return decision. Victoria offers a combination of price point, growth and buildable land in serviced locations that lets a purpose built investment strategy actually work, whether you are targeting NDIS SDA, co-living or triple living.
What it does not offer is a guarantee. Location is one input among several, alongside the design category you choose, the builder you use, the finance you secure and your own tax position.
This is general information only and not financial advice. Property values and rental returns can fall as well as rise. Speak to a licensed adviser about your circumstances.
To see what we build and where, explore our NDIS and SDA properties and our co-living investment properties.
Sources: Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026 (Act No. 49 of 2026, Royal Assent 26 June 2026), Federal Register of Legislation; and Australian Taxation Office, “Tax reform: Boosting home ownership: Reforming negative gearing and capital gains tax”.