The European Commission recently released its first-ever Affordable Housing Plan. So what does the European plan suggest, and what lessons does it hold for Australia? In response, EU member states are encouraged to implement measures including “effective taxation policies” and “[assigning] a set share of new housing developments to social and affordable housing, reflecting local housing needs”. To facilitate this, restrictive state aid rules are to be relaxed to encourage more affordable housing investment. Though recent Australian housing policy innovations have been both many in number and generally positive in nature, they remain piecemeal and patchy.