After a total of 12 years as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Housing Choices Australia (Housing Choices), Michael Lennon has advised the Board that he will step down from his position on January 31, 2023. Michael’s decision is driven by his belief that Housing Choices should benefit from renewed leadership at the most optimal time in its development and that time is now: “Working with a skilled executive team and staff and a committed board has made the task of helping build Housing Choices a privilege,” Mr Lennon said.
Congratulations to Leonie King, CEO and the City West Housing team on winning the award for Best Affordable Housing Development at the Property Council of Australia Innovation & Excellence Awards recently, for their Ironbark Apartments.
Key housing affordability advocates have welcomed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s commitment to expand the National Housing Infrastructure Facility to social and affordable housing.
Mr Albanese made the commitment in his closing address to the Jobs and Skills Summit in Canberra this afternoon. The policy makes it possible for $575 million dollars in the national housing infrastructure facility to invest in affordable housing by attracting financing from super funds and other sources of private capital. The Prime Minister’s commitment is an important recognition of the critical role social and affordable housing must play if Australia is to address core economic challenges such as productivity and labour mobility, according to the Community Housing Industry Association, National Shelter, Homelessness Australia and Everybody’s Home.
Wendy Hayhurst, CEO of Community Housing Industry Association, said social and affordable housing was critical infrastructure. “Our existing housing policies are a handbrake on economic growth because they fail to provide the rental housing needed for our workforce. This initiative is a great start at attracting super funds into social and affordable housing and we are committed to working with the Government to build upon it.”
The Jobs and Skills Summit must consider the urgent need to expand social and affordable housing if it hopes to deal with core economic challenges such as productivity and labour mobility, according to key housing affordability advocates.
The joint call from the Community Housing Industry Association, National Shelter, Homelessness Australia and Everybody’s Home comes as a raft of recent data and research demonstrates the economic toll of inadequate housing options for Australians on low and modest incomes.
An Impact Economics report last week showed how the affordable housing shortage gripping regional Australia is blowing a hole in local economies worth hundreds of millions of dollars, as employers struggle to attract staff due to low vacancy rates and skyrocketing rent.
An alliance of more than 100 property, community, health and environmental organisations has today issued a forceful call to the country’s Building Ministers to lift the energy efficiency of new homes built in Australia.
The powerful joint statement, released two weeks ahead of a National Building Ministers meeting, urges the Commonwealth, State and Territory Ministers to use the meeting to confirm amendments to the National Construction Code.
The proposed changes would increase the minimum energy efficiency requirements for new homes from a 6 to 7-star energy rating and have the potential to slash the average household energy bill by up to $576 a year, according to the Federal Government’s own analysis.
Link Wentworth recently launched a new name and brandmark for their Affordable Housing services. This follows the organisation’s merger last year to become Link Wentworth.
‘Link Wentworth Affordable’ is a licensed real estate agency, linking renters on low to moderate incomes with appropriate and affordable properties. The team works in close partnership with private property owners, investors, developers, local governments and other charitable organisations to deliver high quality homes and award-winning service.
Over the past couple of years, the team has grown their properties under management and are keen on further growth that is aligned with Link Wentworth’s vision of ‘providing home, building futures’.
Most recently, the team began a new contract to manage the Affordable Housing at Urban Property Group’s Navali development’. CEO Patrick Elias said, “With social and affordable housing in mind, Urban Property Group is pleased to announce that 10 units in our upcoming Navali build to rent development in Penrith will be managed by Link Wentworth as Affordable Housing. We’re excited to be working with an organisation that shares similar values and is committed to driving positive change.”
The early bird has been extended to 5th August, and CHIA members receive an additional discount throughout. We invite you to join us as we tackle specific issues including:
Key worker housing
Re-developing existing estates
Driving greater homeownership down the income ladder
Attracting institutional investment within social and affordable housing
Incorporating affordable housing options into Build-to-Rent models
Join us in September to hear from industry leaders, including:
Steve Pomeroy, Executive Advisor and Industry Professor, Canadian Housing Evidence Collaborative (CHEC) McMaster University; Senior Research Fellow and Adjunct Professor, Carleton University School of Public Policy Administration
SGCH, NSW’s largest community housing provider, has released its first Impact Report in recognition of the growing interest in the sector by investors, Government and commercial partners, and the broader sector.
The Impact Report draws a clear link between SGCH’s strategy and the long-term impact and value that this emerging investment class is creating in the social and affordable housing area.
Speaking about the launch of the report CEO Scott Langford said, “As a profit-for-purpose organisation, SGCH takes a commercial approach to delivering social outcomes.
“It has become increasingly clear that potential investors and other partners such as Government will benefit from a clear understanding of our approach and baseline performance so they can clearly see the social, economic and environmental benefits that are underpinned by strong governance in our organisation.”
The Community Housing Industry Association (CHIA) congratulates the Hon Julie Collins MP on her appointment to Cabinet as the Minister responsible for the housing portfolio. “We warmly welcome Ms Collins to her new role” said Wendy Hayhurst, CHIA’s CEO. “We have long argued that housing deserves a seat at the Cabinet table. Access to a safe, secure affordable home is fundamentally important to all Australians and to the success of our national economy” she said.
She went on to say “CHIA fully supports the new Government’s housing commitments, including establishing an Australian Housing Future Fund to invest in 30,000 new social and affordable homes. We also strongly welcome the institutional reforms in the ALP’s housing platform. The housing plan, the proposed Housing Supply and Affordability Council and the new national housing agency, Housing Australia – which, together, should provide the essential foundation for a serious effort to tackle our national housing affordability problem.”
The Community Housing Industry Association (CHIA) congratulates Anthony Albanese and the Australian Labor Party on Saturday’s election victory. “We look forward to working with an Albanese Government over the next term to tackle systemic housing unaffordability across Australia” said Wendy Hayhurst, CHIA’s CEO.
CHIA fully supports the new Government’s pre-election housing commitments, including establishing an Australian Housing Future Fund to invest in 30,000 new social and affordable dwellings.
Ms Hayhurst noted, “The Fund is a great start. We also know there’s a lot more to do; social housing has reduced to less than one in twenty homes across Australia. That’s because public and community housing has grown by only 4% over the past 25 years while our population has increased by 30%. Only 1-2% of housing built each year is social and affordable housing – far short of the 16% we managed in 1950s and 1960s”.
The Fund is a great start. We also know there’s a lot more to do; social housing has reduced to less than one in twenty homes across Australia. That’s because public and community housing has grown by only 4% over the past 25 years while our population has increased by 30%.
Only 1-2% of housing built each year is social and affordable housing – far short of the 16% we managed in 1950s and 1960s”.
She went on to say, “That’s why we also strongly welcome the institutional reforms in the ALP’s housing platform. The housing plan, the proposed Housing Supply and Affordability Council and the new national housing agency – Housing Australia – aren’t made for a media sound bite. But together they should provide the necessary foundation for a serious effort to tackle our national housing affordability problem. This is a long term project that requires a non-partisan approach to delivery”
Housing sector peak bodies representing low-income households and community housing providers have welcomed today’s policy announcements by the Australian Labor Party as a timely recognition of the urgent need to tackle intensifying housing unaffordability.
The media focus has been on the Help to Buy shared ownership scheme to assist lower and moderate-income households get on the housing ladder. Ms Emma Greenhalgh, Chief Executive Officer National Shelter, said…
