Community News
In April, Believe Housing Australia celebrated the opening of its $13.7 million, four-level apartment building at Panorama, a big step toward providing more high-quality affordable housing in South Australia.
The National Housing Conference 2025 (NHC25) is once again set to bring together Australia’s housing sector and policy makers at all levels of government, for discussions that will shape the future of housing in Australia.
Housing All Australians is thrilled to see the launch of their first Queensland project in Acacia Ridge. In partnership with Queensland Rail and Churches of Christ, Housing All Australians is transforming an underutilised Queensland Rail property into 14 fully refurbished bedroom studios to support women over the age of 55 experiencing homelessness.
Housing Choices Australia (HCA) is pleased to be selected as a preferred applicant to deliver 625 brand new, well-designed, energy efficient social and affordable homes under Round 1 of the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) Facility, supporting more Australians in need of safe and secure affordable housing.
“This is the first of its kind in the city, supporting vulnerable women and their families by providing safe and affordable long-term rentals to call home." - Premier of South Australia Peter Malinauskas
Westside Housing, St Vincent de Paul Society SA and Shelter SA are working together to bring Homeshare to South Australia and we have an exciting update for you!
Abstract submission is now open until 16 February 2025
Women and children escaping domestic violence will soon have a safe home to heal, recover and rebuild, as work commences on a new refuge in Port Stephens. The refuge – the first of its kind in the Port Stephens local government area – will provide six units so that at any given time more than twelve women and children can access safe and secure housing. The joint venture, built by Hume Community Housing (Hume Housing) and delivered by Port Stephens Family and Neighbourhood Services (PSFaNS), will provide wrap-around services to assist women and children live a life free from violence. The project, made possible by the $7.2 million investment by the NSW Government under the Core and Cluster program, promotes independent living by providing self-contained accommodation around a central ‘core’ facility providing support including access to services including counselling, legal assistance, education, and employment support. Brad Braithwaite, CEO of Hume Community Housing said the partnership between PSFaNS, Hume Housing and the NSW Government will ensure that women and children in Port Stephens experiencing domestic and family violence can find a safe home and the supports they need. “Domestic and family violence is the leading cause of homelessness for women and children. If we are going to address domestic violence we must invest in housing, Mr Braithwaite said. “Access to safe housing should never be the reason why a woman or child stays in a violent, abusive home. Hume is proud to be partnering with the NSW Government and PSFaNS to deliver and asset manage this independent living refuge and core facility.” “At Hume we believe everyone should have access to a safe, secure and affordable home.” Tailored support services will be delivered by PSFaNS to help victim-survivors rebuild their lives and heal from trauma. PSFaNS has 35 years of experience providing support to people fleeing abusive relationships including staying home leaving violence, specialist homeless program, Aboriginal programs, financial counselling, emergency relief, and legal support as well as child and family casework. “Women and children in our community have suffered the immense and unjust hardship of not ever having access to a local refuge,” Sue Pollock Manager of PSFaNS said. “Alongside of this, for many years, they have been advocating so that traumatised women and children do not need to uproot their entire lives and support systems – schools, jobs, friends and family, everything they know – and leave the area for their safety.” “In particular, the Worimi community have strongly advocated and supported this process. Women in Karuah Aboriginal community have been working hard designing and sewing soft furnishings and outdoor planting ready for the refuge completion so women and children entering into a culturally safe place." The Port Stephens refuge is earmarked to be operational by early 2026.
Expressions of interest are now open for the acquisition and management of 13 new build-to-rent residential developments across the Perth metropolitan area.
YWCA Australia is proud to launch the ‘ Women’s Liveability Assessment’ , a free online audit tool that helps community housing providers, governments and other housing providers to ensure their housing meets the unique needs of their women residents. The Women’s Liveability Assessment covers four key domains of impact – Safety and Security, Participation and Connection, Agency and Health and Wellbeing, drawn from YWCA’s Women’s Housing Framework. It prompts housing providers to consider how residents are supported after experiencing trauma, assisted to build skills and access employment opportunities and ensure housing meets residents’ family and caring responsibilities. According to data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, women make up the majority of social housing, including community housing, residents across Australia. The development of the Women’s Liveability Assessment was led by Libby van der Waal, YWCA’s General Manager, Housing Operations, with sector partners CHIA Vic, Community Housing Limited and Women’s Property Initiatives. “What sets this tool apart is that it takes a holistic approach, considering physical spaces and locations alongside support needs and community connections,” said Ms van der Waal. “After seeing the positive outcomes for our residents, we wanted to support other housing providers to see that same impact.” Karina Carroll, from Women’s Property Initiatives, welcomed the opportunity to participate in the development of the tool. “Women and women led households have unique needs and the assessment enables community housing providers to think about those needs, when they are designing new homes. Women’s Property Initiatives are embedding the use of the free online audit tool in all future projects”. Kate Dodd, from Community Housing Limited, is looking forward to implementing the tool to track the organisation’s current impact with real time data. “This data-driven approach enables us to implement direct actions quickly, leading to immediate improvements in the services we offer our residents. The tool is versatile across different environments, addressing specific domains critical to our operations.” The tool includes a number of questions in each domain, and housing providers are given a score per domain and overall. Each question provides Actions for Improvement to improve policies, practices and processes to better meet the needs of women. The project was funded by Homes Victoria. Media Contact: Kathryn Brennan, YWCA Australia M:0408 429 655 E: kathryn.brennan@ywca.org.au
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