The purpose and context of the research This study examines how contemporary Australian affordable housing projects are designed, financed, developed and managed. The study aims to deepen understanding and raise awareness of the various trade-offs that shape the design and development of affordable housing projects in Australia, and to suggest ways in which such trade-offs can be managed to deliver outcomes that are socially, environmentally and financially sustainable. The study also offers a tool for projectlevel evaluation of affordable housing. Governments across Australia are increasingly turning to not-for-profit housing providers to help address shortages in housing that is affordable to low and moderate income households. Consequently, various new forms of affordable housing projects have been developed or procured by not-for-profit organisations in recent years. Previous research has examined some of the challenges faced by not-for-profit organisations involved in this rapidly emerging industry and has focused on organisations or the wider policy and regulatory contexts in which they operate (Milligan et al. 2009, 2004; Lawson et al. 2010; Travers et al. 2011). The focus in this study is on delivery at project level, using a sample of eight affordable housing projects that have been selected on the basis of specified criteria. The project level analysis is underpinned by the concept of sustainability, giving consideration to financial, social and environmental goals and outcomes of affordable housing projects. A sustainability framework encourages providers planning a new project to aim high, to manage multiple objectives and to consider both immediate and long-term impacts. This framework underpins the four principal research questions addressed in the study: