Leading community housing provider, Compass Housing, has been awarded a major contract from the NSW Government to help boost social and affordable housing, including new dwellings for Wyong.
The Social and Affordable Housing Fund (SAHF) is a key component of the Future Directions for Social Housing in NSW strategy, that will result in more social and affordable housing dwellings linked to tailored support, to help households gain independence.
The SAHF is the first initiative of its kind for the social housing sector, and will see Compass Housing deliver 600 new dwellings built across the Newcastle, Wyong, Lake Macquarie, Gosford, Maitland and Singleton local government areas.
Eighty per cent of the new dwellings will be for people currently on the social housing waiting list in the Central Coast area.
The remaining 20 per cent will be allocated under an affordable housing model in which rent is capped at no more than 74.9 per cent of the market rate.
Compass Group Managing Director, Greg Budworth, said the projects would help address shortfalls of housing which are driving affordability issues for key workers and low income families.
“There is a shortage of social and affordable housing right across the country, and the Central Coast is no exception,” he said.
“The NSW Government deserves major credit for taking bold steps to increase supply.
“Adequate housing is crucial to a person’s wellbeing.
“Without it, it’s next to impossible to make a go of things in any other part of your life.
“Innovative solutions like the SAHF will be critical to addressing the current shortfall and allowing more vulnerable people to experience the stability that comes from having a suitable and affordable place to live.”
The 600 new dwellings will create approximately $200 million worth of activity in the construction sector and will support hundreds of local jobs in the process.
The HIA estimates that the economic multiplier for housing construction is around 5:1, which puts the full economic impact of the new dwellings at around $1 billion in the Hunter and Central Coast regions.
The SAHF is funded by the returns generated from $1.1 billion worth of seed funding invested by NSW Treasury Corporation.
Under the new contract, Compass will manage the delivery of the dwellings and provide ongoing tenancy and property management, tenant support coordination services, and performance reporting on program outcomes for 25 years.
As well as receiving tenancy and property management, tenants of the new properties will have access to Compass’ community engagement programs which promote tenant participation and wellbeing.
The NSW Council of Social Service welcomed the announcement of projects to be delivered under the first phase of the Social and Affordable Housing Fund (SAHF).
NCOSS President, Mr Tony Davies, said the projects showed that the SAHF was an important tool encouraging new strategies to boost social and affordable housing across the State.
“With 60,000 households currently on the social housing waiting list in NSW, and households increasingly experiencing rental stress, we need to be encouraging all the new thinking we can to boost social and affordable housing in NSW,” he said.
Mr Davies said he now hoped a second phase of the SAHF could get underway soon to fund at least 5,000 additional units of social and affordable housing in NSW along with support services that build a truly holistic approach.
“The possibilities for combining boosts in housing stock with wrap around services are huge.
“Future iterations of the SAHF should be looking to deliver targeted housing options that will meet the needs of particular groups experiencing disadvantage such Aboriginal people, older women, young people, women and children experiencing domestic and family violence, and people in rural, regional and remote areas.
“And with the transition to the National Disability Insurance Scheme underway, we are also keen for the SAHF to boost supply of housing that works for people with disability, as the private market is not well placed to respond, even with financial assistance.”
Media release,
Interview,
Mar 10, 2017
Martin Kennedy, Compass Housing
Media release,
Mar 10, 2017
Laura MacLean, NSW Council of Social Service
Jackie Pearson, journalist