Author Archives: chia_adm

Key dates for housing data

Member news News No Comments

The sign-up period for the community housing industry’s own benchmarking platform, House Keys: Workforce Round Three, will start next month to allow the data to be available early next financial year.

Housekeys Service Delivery Coordinator Leoni Lynch says, ‘Our top priority for future rounds of House Keys is to make sure that the most up to date information as possible is available.

‘To achieve this, we’ve decided to move straight onto capturing data for this financial year (2017-18) and skip financial year 2016-17. We’ve also made a number of changes to our methodology which will significantly reduce the turnaround time. Two areas where we plan to reduce the turnaround time significantly are the sign up process and the data submission window.’

A regular annual cycle has been set up to ensure House Keys: Workforce data is released around the end of September every year, based on data from the previous financial year.  Key dates are: June 2018 – CHPs invited to sign up;  July/August 2018 – data submission; and, end September 2018 – Launch Round Three.

Ms Lynch says the feedback from Round Two of House Keys Workforce (data from FY 2015-16) has been very positive since its launch in January 2018. Further feedback and suggestions can be sent to [email protected]

Download the Housekeys pdf or watch the House Keys video to find out how to get the most out of it and read our House Keys user manual.

 

Access takes out national award

Member news News Western Australia No Comments

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Access Housing’s Haven @ Rockingham development claimed the prestigious Best Affordable Housing Development award at the 2018 Property Council of Australia Innovation and Excellence Awards.

The Property Council of Australia’s National Innovation and Excellence Awards is one of the most revered property awards programs in Australia, promoting excellence in design and innovation in the built environment since 1982.

Completed in November 2016, Haven is an architecturally designed three-level mixed use development comprised of 28 stylish apartments, four townhouses and three commercial spaces within a secure, boutique complex.

Haven provides much-needed affordable rental housing for a diverse range of people, which is provided through homes retained by Access Housing for Community Housing purposes and homes sold to National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS) investors to help increase the supply of affordable rental housing within the community. Owner-occupiers can also purchase a new, affordable home within Haven outright or in partnership with Access Housing through the company’s Home Choice shared equity home ownership program.

Haven is located close to public transport routes and interchanges and is only minutes to the Rockingham foreshore. Other amenities such as schools, parks, sporting facilities, Murdoch University campus and Rockingham City Shopping Centre are also close by.

Access Housing Chief Executive Officer Garry Ellender said Haven’s award win showcased the company’s continued ability to deliver industry recognised affordable housing developments.

“Being able to win an award as illustrious as this, and ahead of impressive competition from across Australia, is a fantastic achievement not just for Access Housing but also the Community Housing sector more broadly,” Mr Ellender said.

“One of the cornerstones of our property development activities is ensuring value for money throughout each project’s lifetime, not just during construction, to ensure ongoing affordability for tenants, owner-occupiers and investors.

“The significance of this award win cannot be overstated, as it exemplifies Access Housing’s and the Community Housing sector’s capacity to deliver new housing choices for low-moderate income earners while also showing that affordability is still achievable when delivering high quality, well-designed residential developments.”

Haven’s win at the Property Council of Australia’s national awards continues Access Housing’s recent run of success in some of the most respected and valued development industry awards programs. September 2017 saw the company join with project partner BGC Development to win the prestigious 2017 Urban Development Institute of Australia (WA) Award for Excellence in the ‘Affordable Development’ category for our Jervis Rise, Baldivis development. A few weeks after Jervis Rise’s success, Access Housing’s environmentally sustainable affordable housing development at White Gum Valley won the 2017 Australasian Housing Institute (WA) Awards for Professional Excellence in Housing ‘Leading Housing Development Project’ award.

  • article courtesy of Access Housing

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Indigenous housing Innovation Member news News Western Australia No Comments

A remote West Australian Aboriginal community has launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds needed to turn new and refurbished social housing into homes by providing the funds to purchase essential household items, from beds to kettles.

Tjuntjuntjara is located in the Great Victoria Desert, about 690km north-east of Kalgoorlie. Access to the community is difficult due to the surrounding terrain, with food supplies flown in on a fortnightly basis.

The 2011 census reported the community’s population as 162, but Tjuntjuntjara has grown over the last few years and now acts as a service centre for surrounding outstations.

In December 2017, the West Australian Government announced a major capital works and essential services package to upgrade existing social housing and to improve essential services in the community. Work on the properties is nearly complete and, in June, the residents will receive access to 10 new multigenerational houses and 12 upgraded existing houses.

Not-for-profit community housing organisation Community Housing Ltd manages the properties on behalf of the Department of Housing.

Whilst the construction works have been funded by the National Partnership in Remote Housing, the community and residents themselves are completely responsible for furnishing their homes. This presents a big challenge for most community members who are on low incomes. The high cost of freight to the community makes purchasing essential household items unaffordable for low income residents.

The Paupiyala Tjarutja Aboriginal Corporation (PTAC), which manages the Tjuntjuntjara community on behalf of the Spinifex traditional owners, has launched a ‘GoFundMe’ appeal on behalf of the community to solicit donations in cash and kind. CHL is supporting the appeal as part of its broader community engagement program.

‘CHL is committed to community development with dedicated staff who focus on facilitating community development projects which have been generated and are led by community,’ says CHL’s Community Development Project Manager, Rachel Lattimore.

‘CHL’s approach is based on identifying the strengths, knowledge, and capability within communities and developing innovative ideas to create sustainable, resilient, communities. CHL has adopted an Aboriginal Community Strategy, and a Community Development Framework to ensure best practice.’

PTAC can accept gifts or donations on behalf of donors that are tax deductible and directly benefit the community. They are looking for the public’s assistance to raise money or donate physical items such as: storage and transport of items to Tjuntjuntjara, fridges, bedframes, dining furniture, kettles and washing machines.

For details, and to support the campaign, see GoFundMe, or PTAC’s website.

Community housing’s take on Budget 2018

Bond aggregator Budget Federal Indigenous housing National Affordable Housing Agreement National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation NDIS News No Comments

The Commonwealth Government’s 2018 Budget has let the momentum slide on affordable housing.

While the 2017 Federal Budget laid the foundations for real improvements in affordable housing this year’s budget fails to follow through.

This budget focuses on tax reform, infrastructure investments, improving security, and the digital economy. The tax reforms are unlikely to impact on many community housing tenants but will provide some assistance to those in affordable housing: from 2018-19, an increase to the Low Income Tax Offset will deliver around $530 pa to 10 million low and moderate income earners. From July 2024, the 37 per cent tax scale will be abolished and only 6 per cent of the population with income over $200,000 will pay the highest marginal tax rate (45 per cent).

There is an additional $24.5 billion for infrastructure initiatives on top of the $75b announced in the last budget – no mention of housing, this is all roads, rail, ports and air infrastructure, and $1b to fix congestion in cities.

Major sector-specific measures:
The major measures focussed on the social and affordable housing sector in this year’s budget are:
• $550m over five years under a new Bilateral Agreement to improve Indigenous Housing in Northern Territory (already announced); and
• extra funding to improve the condition of public housing in the Northern Territory, including asbestos removal
• a related measure will provide $259.6m in 2017-18 to the NT government to offset GST reductions, so it can improve services in remote communities.

Minister Scullion’s Press Release advises that the government is in negotiations with the Queensland, South Australian and Western Australian governments ‘about future Commonwealth investment [in housing] in those jurisdictions’.

Minor sector-specific measures:
National Regulatory Scheme for Community Housing (NRSCH) will be funded $1.1m over 2017-18 and 2018-19 towards the evaluation of the NRSCH.
Australian Housing & Urban Research Institute (AHURI) will receive $5.5m/three years to continue the national housing research program.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics will receive $4.9m/four years to improve data collection of affordable housing stock estimates, planning and zoning activity, and dwelling construction cost. (This looks like the input to a National Housing Supply Council some time in the future.)
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) will receive $0.2m in 2018-19 to improve its user interface for housing and homelessness data collections.

Broader housing-related measures:
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) will get an undisclosed amount to set up North Queensland Home Insurance Comparison website to help home owners compare premiums.

The Western Sydney City Deal will be funded $125m/five years to support infrastructure projects and liveability, including $15m for planning reforms to support housing supply in Western Sydney (this is redirected money from uncommitted funding, not new money).

Other matters:
Wage growth is expected to pick up in the broader economy to 3 per cent pa in 2019-20 (the increases under Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Award are phasing in until 2021). Inflation is projected to increase from 2.25 per cent in 2017-18 to 3.25 per cent in 2019-20. These movements may impact on Community Housing Providers operating costs.

There are some changes to income support arrangements that may have a minor impact on sector rental cash flows.

These include:
• the black economy taskforce response gets another $12.3m over four years – potentially impacting on some social housing tenants’ income declarations
• to encourage ‘lawful behaviour’ among income support recipients, the Commonwealth will be able to compulsorily deduct court-imposed fines and suspend/cancel welfare payments to people with outstanding warrants. How this will impact on tenants with Centrepay deductions is unknown. This may require renegotiation of rental payments for some tenants.
• pensioners will be able to earn up to $300pf (up from $250), without affecting their pension
• employment programs:
– jobs and skills for mature age Australians – $189.7m/five years
– transition to work – $80m/four years to support 40,000 young people aged 15-21 who are at risk of long-term unemployment
– the Community Development Program will ‘redirect $1.1b/five years to improve employment outcomes in remote areas’, including through 6,000 employment subsidies.

The following measures may impact on some CHPs:

Disability and Carers
• the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is to be fully funded
• the NDIS Jobs and Market Fund – $64.3m/four years to help disability service providers take advantage of NDIS opportunities
• an additional $9.9m over two years will help Disability Employment Providers transition to the NDIS
• $92.1m/five years to ensure continuity of support for people who are not transitioning to the NDIS but are getting services under programs that are transitioning to the NDIS (programs not named)
• carer coordination – $113m/five years for Integrated Carer Support Services to help carers navigate the system through a new Carer gateway – an income test will be introduced for the Carer Allowance, with the carer and their partner required to have a combined income of less than $250,000 pa.

Older Australians
More Choices for a Longer Life – a package of measures for older Australians, including:
• 14,000 high-level care packages (on top of 6,000 already announced)
• 13,500 residential age care places
• $40m in capital grants for aged care facilities in regional and remote areas
• several measures focusing on quality of care, including an extra $8.8m to improve transparency of information on aged care provider quality
• more money for mental health services for older Australians
• $22.9m/two years to encourage older Australians to take part in physical activity.

Abstudy – $38.1m/five years will improve Abstudy payments, including providing boarding payments to kids under 16 getting Abstudy Living Allowance, more flexible travel arrangements and relaxed rules about which schools kids can attend.

Stronger Communities Round 4 – $25.9m/two years for small capital projects ($2,500-$25,000) that deliver benefits for local communities (redirected funds, not new money).

Building Better Regions Fund Round 3 – $206.5m/four years for investment in community infrastructure and capacity building projects in regional areas. [Note, some CHPs have accessed BBR funding from previous rounds to support mature age housing).

There are also some institutional reforms that may impact on how CHPs operate, for instance:

Australian Charities and Not for Profit Commission – $1m in 2018-19 to respond to ‘anticipated litigation’ as it pursues its role of regulating charities and charity registration
Consumer Data Rights – will allow people to share their data safely ‘with trusted and accredited service providers’.
The National Housing and Homelessness Agreement (NHHA) -Budget Paper No3 makes it clear that Commonwealth funding under the NHHA includes supplementation to the states and territories until 2021 to assist with wage cost increases under the Social, Community Services and Disability Industry Equal Remuneration order 2012. This was previously paid under a separate National Partnership Agreement for Housing and under the National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness for homelessness services. (There is no supplementation for CHPs unless states pass this on).
Rent Assistance – Rises from $4.4b to $4.53 mainly as a result of growth in age pensioner and carer pensioner populations.

What’s missing?
1. There is no National Housing Strategy in sight.
2. There are no measures to increase housing supply.
3. There is still no prospect of capital funding or additional subsidy to fill the gap between rental receipts and operating costs, to support the Bond Aggregator and Housing Infrastructure Funding announced in the last budget.
4. There is no reform of Capital Gains tax and negative gearing, which distort the housing market.
5. There is no reform of Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA) to alleviate housing stress among low income households.
6. The package of measures in this budget for older Australians, while welcome, is completely silent on housing stress among the 190,000 people over 70 who receive CRA.
7. There is no recognition that affordable, appropriate housing is essential to Closing the Gap for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, 79 per cent of whom live in non-remote areas.

In short, there is no National Housing Strategy.

More investment needed in affordable housing

News Victoria No Comments

In an article in Melbourne’s The Age newspaper, Community Housing Industry Association Chair Michael Lennon has said the Victorian Government was dancing around the issue of providing affordable housing.

‘Victoria has the lowest proportion of social and affordable housing of any state or territory,’ he said. ‘It’s because of a protracted period of under investment by progressive state governments.’

Aside from an apparent lack of will to invest in affordable housing, Mr Lennon said the government’s steps forward appear to show compelling developers to build affordable housing was in the too-hard basket.

‘Obviously anything which will provide addition supply is to be supported, however from international experience it’s a legal minefield to put the burden of supply on landowners who put forward an application.’

Click here to read more.

CHL and Horizon join forces for housing affordability

Member news News NSW Qld No Comments

Australian not-for-profit housing provider Community Housing Limited (CHL) has announced its integration of Queensland’s largest housing provider, Horizon Housing,  into the CHL Group of  Companies.

The move will provide CHL with a strong advantage in Queensland to deliver more affordable housing  in the State.

Over the next year this integration will drive growth for the two organisations so that more Australians who are facing housing crisis are able to secure long‐term affordable housing.

The integration will boost CHL’s current portfolio to over 11,000 properties by November 2018, making it  the largest community housing provider in the country. The combined group will manage  community and affordable housing properties across the six states with nearly 300 staff delivering  services to support those most disadvantaged.

The new arrangement will consolidate expertise and strengthen the reach and services offered by  both community housing providers. It will allow both the organisations to utilise their  complementary strengths and drive efficiencies, reducing costs and releasing revenue to access  more finance to build more homes and improve the quality of services to customers.

Horizon, Queensland’s largest housing provider with operations in 15 in local government areas  across Queensland and parts of New South Wales, provides both community housing programs and  affordable housing projects and has over 2,400 properties in its portfolio, all of which will now  benefit from the expansion of services and increased resources available via CHL.

‘This new arrangement further strengthens the position of both organisations, providing each with  mutually beneficial outcomes aligned to our shared vision of providing the communities we serve  with affordable housing solutions that are available and accessible by those in need,’ says CHL Group’s  Managing Director, Steve Bevington.

‘Our collaboration is an exciting development for the sector and redefines the landscape, we look  forward to drawing on this strengthened position to deliver future affordable housing solutions as  the housing crisis across the country escalates.’

CHL has long been considered a sector leader, supporting and growing the industry  both locally and internationally, providing end-to-end affordable housing developments and long -term housing and tenancy management operations in Australia.

‘Horizon’s integration within the CHL Group is another step in that direction’, adds Steve.

CEO of Horizon Housing, Jason Cubit, said the organisation was excited to be part of the CHL group of  companies.

‘The integration of Horizon Housing and CHL is an exciting new chapter, as it allows us to pool the  expertise and resources critical to improving the lives of the most vulnerable members of the  community,’ Mr Cubit says.

‘Our initiatives don’t only help families get by in the short‐term, but empower them to break  the  cycle of financial stress, aiding a transition into the private rental or property market.’

The integration of the two entities creates a powerful alliance to fight the problem recently  highlighted by the latest Anglicare Rental Affordability Snapshot, which categorised three out of  67,365 rental properties listed in Australia as ‘affordable’ for a single person on Newstart Allowance.

Horizon Housing and its subsidiaries will maintain business as usual for the foreseeable future,  delivering quality services to Queensland’s most vulnerable, whilst retaining all current governance  structures, branding and staffing.

Article courtesy of CHL

Federal Budget silent on National Housing Strategy

Budget Federal Indigenous housing National Affordable Housing Agreement National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation News No Comments

This year’s Federal Budget shows exactly why Australia needs a National Housing Strategy, according to the Community Housing Industry Association (CHIA).

The $110m for five years to continue work on remote housing in the Northern Territory is very welcome, as is the added funding for the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute and the Australian Bureau of Statistics to improve housing data. Spending on infrastructure to reduce urban congestion and improve transport networks to support our growing population is welcome. The $15m to encourage planning reforms in Western Sydney is a good start.

But this Budget is silent on one of the biggest pressures facing Australian households: housing affordability, says CHIA Executive Director Peta Winzar.

‘House prices at the top of the East coast capital city markets may be coming off the boil, but home ownership remains a challenge for many families on low and moderate incomes and more than 40 per cent of low income renters are in housing stress,’ Ms Winzar says.

‘Unless we have a National Housing Strategy and the programs to support it, housing will still be on the front pages of the paper in 12 months’ time, when tonight’s tax cuts promised tonight hit people’s bank accounts. And it will still be a problem in 2024 when the 37 per cent tax bracket is eliminated.’

In 2017, the Treasurer laid the groundwork for a coherent, sustained effort to improve housing affordability, raising the hopes of a growing number of Australians who are finding themselves it increasingly difficult to afford a secure, affordable and appropriate place to call home.

‘We now need a National Housing Strategy to follow through,’ Ms Winzar says.

‘We need a National Strategy that commits to more fundamental tax reform to remove the distortions in the housing market. A Strategy that includes reform of Commonwealth Rent Assistance to reduce rental stress for private renters.  A Strategy that sets housing as a core component of infrastructure investment. A Strategy that commits to delivering 200,000 social and affordable dwellings over the next decade.

‘We need a National Housing Strategy which guides a sustained effort of all levels of government to fix housing affordability, especially for those on low and moderate incomes. Because being able to afford somewhere to live is more important than a generic tax cut,’ Ms Winzar says.

 

Victorian budget ignores housing crisis

Budget News Victoria No Comments

Victoria is set to retain its unenviable record of having the lowest percentage of social housing in Australia, with the budget lacking the type of investment needed to provide safe, secure and affordable housing for those on low incomes.

Chief Executive Officer of Community Housing Industry Association Victoria (CHIA Vic) Lesley Dredge says whilst the Victorian Government is to be commended on implementing the Homes for Victorians strategy, and putting in place the architecture needed for growth in social housing, Victoria’s level of social housing will continue to go backwards.

The latest statistics show there are currently 36,742 households on the Victorian Housing Register, awaiting social housing, including 17,848 on the priority list.

‘Those figures represents only some of the Victorian households experiencing extreme housing stress – impacting on all aspects of their lives and the communities in which they live, Ms Dredge says.

‘We must address the urgent backlog of social and affordable housing in Victoria. With Melbourne growing by 125,000 people last year and housing stress increasing in our regional centres, doing nothing is just not an option,’ Ms Dredge says.

‘We need 1800 properties just to stand still and remain the worst in the country – whilst the Budget target is a drop of 45 social housing dwellings.’

Ms Dredge says there were positives to come out of the Budget, including
– rebuilding the TAFE system and aligning the training system with industry
– big investments in mental health and addiction
– further investment in health and education
– continuation of the large focus on infrastructure.

‘But without an affordable, well-located home it is hard for those on low incomes to make use of these initiatives.’

Encourage survey participation

Indigenous housing Member news News No Comments

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s (AIHW) 2018 National Social Housing Survey (NSHS) has been distributed to a randomly selected group of community housing tenants and members are encouraged, through their communications, to impress upon them the importance of participating.

Whilst organisations won’t know if any of their tenants have been selected for the survey, the AIHW has asked that they still ensure tenants know the surveys are legitimate and important: the data collected helps inform service improvements to social housing programs and is used for national reporting purposes.

Selected tenants will have received a pre-approval letter that advises them to expect the survey. A  follow up letter includes the survey, which they can complete online.

The AIHW has also requested that community housing organisations refrain from running their own surveys between mid-April and June to avoid confusing tenants.

The 2018 NSHS will collect information from a sample of tenants in social housing, including community housing tenants, from all states and territories. Community housing tenants who are selected to participate in the 2018 NSHS will receive the survey by mail. Information collected from community housing tenants will include:

  • tenants’ satisfaction with current housing and housing – related services
  • tenants’ housing histories
  • tenants’ need for, and ability to access, other community and health services, and
  • demographic data about the tenant and their household.

The NSHS will also include tenants in Public Housing, State Owned and Managed Indigenous Housing and, for the first time in 2018, will include tenants in Indigenous Community Housing in Queensland.

Some of this year’s survey results will be included in the Productivity Commission’s annual Report on Government Services in January 2019, with the rest to be released in March/April 2019.

The last NSHS was held 2016. Click here for the 2016 results.

 

 

Last days for The New Urban Agenda

Innovation News NSW No Comments

Compass Housing Services and the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage’s Sustainability Advantage Program have partnered to bring you The New Urban Agenda: Partnering for a resilient, inclusive, sustainable NSW Forum.

The Group Managing Director of Compass Housing, Greg Budworth, is one of the keynote speakers, along with Michael Nolan, the Chair of the UN Global Compact Cities Programme

The battle for sustainability will be won or lost in cities. To achieve a prosperous, productive and sustainable NSW, growing issues around inclusion, liveability and resilience must be tackled head-on. Finding scalable solutions to these challenges is at the heart of Agenda 2030 (the Sustainable Development Goals) and the New Urban Agenda—and a key focus of NSW Government priorities and local council strategies. But government can’t do it alone: to get where we need to be by 2030 requires new levels of ambition, collaboration and innovation.

Compass Housing Services and the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage have partnered to bring you The New Urban Agenda: Partnering for a resilient, inclusive, sustainable NSW, an interactive, multi-stakeholder forum that will unpick three of NSW’s most pressing problems:

  • providing better, more inclusive access to housing and basic services
  • creating clean, resource-efficient and liveable communities
  • building resilient, low-carbon urban economies

The forum will be held on Friday, May 4, from 9am to 5pm.

Register here.

Scam warning

Member news News No Comments

A warning to members and stakeholders that someone impersonating a CHIA employee has been emailing organisations in the housing space and asking them to get in touch to share some documents.

If you receive an email from Stephen Ronald, who is purporting to be CHIA’s Manager Policy and Standards, please do not engage and definitely do not open any attachments. This person is in no way associated with CHIA and never has been.

Genuine emails from CHIA will include the domain @communityhousing.com.au rather than being from a generic gmail or other email account.

Please share this warning with your staff and networks.

PPHA delivers 73 new homes for low income residents

Member news News Victoria No Comments

Port Phillip Housing Association (PPHA) will team up with the Whitehorse City Council and property developer MAB Corporation (MAB) to deliver 73 brand new architect-designed, affordable homes for low income residents, particularly older people and those living with a disability.

The $25 million affordable housing project in Bruce Street, Box Hill will further expand PPHA’s social housing capacity in the inner-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, at a time when rental properties for low income residents, are critically low.

Whitehorse City Council is one of the first local authorities in Melbourne’s east to take the lead in increasing affordable housing.

PPHA Chairman Frank O’Connor said: ‘This project proves just what can be achieved when private enterprise, local government, great design and innovative community housing come together with a sincere, common purpose.

‘A critical solution to the housing affordability crisis being felt right across our communities, is to fundamentally increase the number of affordable, quality homes available to rent.

‘There are simply not enough affordable homes to fill the need, where that need is located,’ Mr. O’Connor said.

‘Building contemporary, beautiful, good quality homes where people can live safely, with dignity and at an affordable price brings relief not just to them, but to the whole community.’

Whitehorse Mayor, Cr Andrew Davenport said this new development will provide 73 well designed apartments for local residents who will pay rent only within their means.

‘In Whitehorse, only 1.6 per cent of all rental vacancies in 2016 were classified as affordable,’ Cr Davenport said.

‘With Port Phillip Housing Association and MAB Corporation involved in the project, Box Hill locals can be assured that the development will be attractive and will integrate beautifully into the character and amenity of the local area.’

This will be the second affordable housing collaboration between PPHA, HAYBALL architects and MAB Corporation, a leading, diversified Melbourne-based development group. The same team was behind the Moorabbin Affordable Housing development completed in 2011 with a project value of $23 million. Located in South Road Moorabbin, the project delivered seven storeys and 75 apartments at completion.

The Bruce Street Box Hill project will comprise;

  • 73 architect-designed affordable housing apartments,
  • built to the Victorian Government’s Better Apartment Design standards,
  • a mix of studio, 1 and 2-bedroom and dual key dwellings,
  • will include apartments specially designed for those living with a disability, with
  • 40 apartments suitable for older residents.

The site will also include a social enterprise café as well as commercial and retail opportunities, to create a supportive vibrant neighbourhood for residents.

PPHA Chief Executive Haleh Homaei said building resilient and sustainable neighbourhoods to support good quality housing is the key to long term, stable, affordable housing tenancies and ensuring return on investment.

This expertise, plus our 30+ years’ experience in tenancy management are the unique elements that we, as a robust, regulated community housing agency, bring to this table and to all our collaborative partnerships.

‘We are thrilled to be working on our next exciting project with Whitehorse City Council, MAB and Hayball. This project will deliver $25 million high quality – affordable housing to Box Hill.’

  • article contributed by PPHA

Meet your Board Members: Leonie King

Member news News NSW No Comments
headshot Leonie King

CHIA Board member and City West Housing CEO Leonie King brings a unique perspective to her community housing role.

Leonie spent a number of years working in housing as a senior NSW Government executive. She bowed out of the bureaucracy in 2016 as an Executive Director in the Department of Family and Community Services, her most recent roles including responsibility for community housing and specialist disability accommodation.
‘I had developed a passion for the community housing sector,’ Leonie says, ‘And I thought the obvious thing to do was to go into in the sector that I had been involved in growing and supporting for a considerable period of time.

‘What has always appealed to me about housing, and about social and affordable housing in particular, is that tension between the commercial imperative and social objectives and how you use use both levers to make lives better for people. That makes it a very interesting area to work in because you are always having to make judgement calls and trade offs.’

Leonie is optimistic about community housing’s potential to develop and grow over the next few years.

‘There had been a bit of a drought nationally in recent years in terms of government focus and attention on the community housing sector, but now there are so many different parts of government that all see the community housing sector’s usefulness in terms of their ability to deliver on the government’s policy agenda.’

Not that the attention is without its difficulties, as different government agencies and tiers of Government have different contractual obligations and different risk profiles, adding to the administrative complexity and costs of managing multiple similar, but slightly different, programs and contracts.

‘It would be really nice to see a bit more consistency; if they contracted in a similar way, if the standard terms and the standard risk profile for like programs was similar that just makes the decision making process so much easier.’

City West has been a major beneficiary of the only planning scheme in Australia (in the City of Sydney) that sees developer contributions levied on developments and passed through directly to a community housing organisation.

‘We have received quite significant contributions under that model which is invested in new affordable housing.’

Leonie says it is unfortunate that many local governments who receive affordable housing in exchange for density bonuses to developers are hesitant to consider a role for community housing beyond property and tenancy management.

‘The standard model is that the councils receive those affordable housing units at the end of the project, maintain ownership and outsource the management; I think there is a potential missed opportunity in either transferring ownership to community housing providers or thinking about forming a joint venture or partnership arrangement with community housing at the front end of that process.

‘The strength of the City of Sydney model is that they saw that owning and managing community housing was not their core business or their core strength,’ Leonie says.

While City West Housing has not participated in the NSW Government’s transfer of more than 6,000 public housing properties to community housing providers in recent years Leonie, unsurprisingly, is a major fan of this initiative.

‘I passionately believe that the first major tranche of property transfers in NSW, which also saw a transfer of ownership, was the trigger that was needed at that time in NSW to build the balance sheet capacity for the sector so it could then borrow and deliver more affordable housing.’

NSW now has a number of large community housing providers, holding significant assets, undertaking development and operating at scale which is a direct result of those title transfers, she says.
‘If you want to grow through borrowing you can’t do that without a balance sheet.’

A number of those providers now stand to benefit from the NSW Government’s commitment to transfer the management of a further 14,000 public housing properties.

Looking to the future, Leonie would like to see more public housing transferred to the community housing sector.

‘I strongly believe in having a diversified delivery system to provide more choice and to create innovation. I think that is really hard to create when, as is the case in NSW, you still have a 130,000 property portfolio managed by one provider. So I would like to see change of at least management, if not ownership.

‘The more this sector grows, the more housing outcomes we can deliver for people…so I hope governments continue that trajectory.’

PM has run out of excuses to walk away from remote housing funding

Indigenous housing No Comments

Queensland’s peak body for the housing and homelessness sector, Q Shelter, has called on the Prime Minister to step up and provide Commonwealth funding for remote housing in Queensland.

Q Shelter’s Executive Director, Leone Crayden, said that the PM had run out of excuses to fund a new National Partnership Agreement on Remote Housing (NPRH) now that the Queensland Government had announced a $1.08 billion funding commitment for remote housing.

“The Commonwealth has used every excuse they can to walk away from funding NPRH, but the facts remain the same – Queensland’s delivered housing on time, on budget, and exceeded local Aboriginal employment targets.” Ms Crayden said.

Ms Crayden said that the Prime Minister’s own report into the program last year praised state governments for exceeding their targets in delivering new homes, refurbishing older houses, and providing employment opportunities for local communities.

Ms Crayden said that investment in this housing was providing employment to young people in remote communities through a training and skills program and was crucial in achieving targets for “Closing the Gap” on Indigenous disadvantage.

Ms Crayden stressed that despite this success, the job was far from over in addressing housing need in remote communities.

“The Federal Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Nigel Scullion, justified walking away from NPRH by arguing that the states needed to have skin in the game when it came to remote housing.”

“Well, the Queensland Government has also now publicly committed more than $1b toward remote housing, so it’s time to see a similar commitment from the Commonwealth.”

“We’re calling on the PM to not walk away from funding remote housing. It’s time to pick up the phone, make a deal, and finish the job together.”

Click  to read QShelter’s position paper on this issue.

 

Property tax reform the answer to housing affordability

Budget Federal No Comments

Last financial year, the Commonwealth Government spent less than $6 billion on assisting low income renters and over $70 billion on providing housing assistance to property owners.

In a country that prides itself on giving everyone a fair go, the balance needs to change, according to a pre-budget submission to the Commonwealth Government by the Community Housing Industry Association (CHIA).

CHIA’s Executive Director, Peta Winzar, says owner occupiers received capital gains tax exemptions worth $61.5 billion last year, and property investors and trusts reaped a further $9.6 billion via capital gains tax concessions. [1] A total of $76 billion of tax breaks for property owners.

Meanwhile, the Commonwealth spent just $4.53 billion on Commonwealth Rent Assistance for low income renters, with 40 per cent of CRA recipients still being in rental stress after receiving the payment (defined as spending more than 30 per cent of household income on rent).

‘At the moment, the taxation system is heavily weighted in favour of those who own property against those who are unlikely to ever be in the position to buy their own home,’ Ms Winzar says.

‘Reforming Capital Gains Tax and negative gearing could deliver savings of up to $30 billion a year – more than enough to alleviate rental stress among one million low-income renters and to build 200,000 more social and affordable housing units which are desperately needed,’ she says.

‘We propose removing the Capital Gains Tax exemption from home-owners and progressively reducing the CGT discount on residential property from 50 per cent to 25 per cent.

‘The 50 per cent CGT discount rule is intended to adjust a capital gain by reference to inflation, but the current rules over-compensate sellers, particularly where properties are held for just a few years,’ Ms Winzar says.

‘To discourage unhealthy property speculation, we are also proposing that the CGT discount be reduced to 15 per cent where residential property is re-sold within five years of acquisition.’

‘And negative gearing could be better used to stimulate additional housing supply if it was restricted to new homes,’ Ms Winzar says.

Ms Winzar says it’s time for the Commonwealth to find a better balance between assisting home owners and renters.  These reforms of taxation policies can reduce the incentive for speculative investment that drives prices higher, ensure profits from selling into rising markets are shared more fairly between property owners and the wider community, and deliver more affordable rental housing.

The taxation reforms were just part of CHIA’s pre-budget submission to the Commonwealth. Click here to view the submission in its entirety.

[1] The Treasury. 2016 Tax Expenditures Statement. Table 1.1 p9. The value of exempting home owners from CGT ($34 billion), the value of the 50% CGT discount for home owners ($27.5 billion), CGT discount for individuals and trusts ($9.6m). Negative gearing is not reported as a tax expenditure, but is estimated at between $0 and $5 billion; See Dale, T. Budget impacts of negative gearing, in Parliamentary Library Flagpost Blog August 2015.

 

New development for family violence survivors

News No Comments
Newport Women's Housing project

The Victorian Property Fund has financed a new housing development to be managed by Women’s Housing Ltd in Newport, Melbourne, that has been designed specifically for women and children escaping family violence.

The project replaced seven existing housing units  with nine one-bedroom units and 11 two-bedroom units.

Women’s Housing is a community housing provider with a focus on housing older women and survivors of family violence.

Read more…

 

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