The Australian government has released a draft National Building Framework that will likely tighten the building standard for new houses to meet higher sustainability requirements. There are uncertainties about the impact this could have on the cost of housing and the supply of affordable housing. This paper aims to provide evidence-based conclusions on the possibility of delivering sustainable and affordable housing for low income people. The case studies are gathered from Brisbane and Gold Coast. This paper presented Australia’s dilemma of very high median house prices and the impact this has on housing affordability and the supply of affordable housing. It outlined sustainable housing features and key issues that affect the supply, and cost, of sustainable housing. Four case study residential developments were presented, providing a degree of comparison of strategies deployed to incorporate affordability and sustainability features. It showed that planning incentives, subsidies, regulatory frameworks and allocation of infrastructure charges all play a critical role in the feasibility of providing affordable sustainable housing in Australia.