Citizenship starts in the home. The home is where our identities are formed and found, where children should have safety and security – a refuge if you will – from the pressures of school and perhaps bullying, from expectations of peers and the woke world rising around them.  It should be the place where citizenship starts and humanity flourishes. It should be, but we know it is not always that way.

Do we even understand the impact on the lack of affordable housing on so many families across our State? Do we realise the rapidly growing numbers, or have we become desensitised to the significant number of families now struggling with poverty? Do we quietly ignore the fate of those struggling families in our State where house rentals are absorbing 50-70% of their flattening wages and increasing rates, food, and fuel prices? They won’t be able to afford an electric car, rising tolls, or go to the new stadium and other offerings covered in this budget.

“If we do not first start with attention to this very basic human right, then many of the places where the budget is being distributed will end up being a band-aid response at best. We acknowledge the importance of sectors which feed into our economy who have received funding, but let’s also get the foundations of our humanity settings right.” said Churches Housing CEO, Rose Thomson.

Do we really think our racetracks and the thoroughbred industry [$67 million] and the resulting gambling are more important than housing upward of 50,000 people in our State? Many face eviction, cannot find a warm bed, or a place they can rent at an affordable rate. What happens in our NSW communities if more of our families spiral downward instead of upwards?

We all agree that we need to look at matters of climate and emissions. But do we really agree that the very populist commitment of $500million on electric car programs when according to the Union of Concerned Scientists “…at the end of the manufacturing process itself, electric cars have generated more carbon emissions.”[1] To produce the batteries needed to power these cars, rare earth minerals are being used up. And what happens next? How are lithium-ion batteries being handled when they are no longer useful for electric cars?

But never mind, let’s just spend $500 million – and not ensure the need for a safe and secure home is met for too many of our citizens, let alone purchasing an electric car.

Now don’t get us wrong, we acknowledge that there are some good things in the budget that look after our people. Spends that improve our transport, education, and health services, that provide jobs through infrastructure projects and support business and growth. We appreciate the ongoing funding for the Together Home program – but perhaps another band aid solution in the growing crisis of affordable housing.

There is a sense of excitement that we have bounced back from the anticipated economic doom of an unprecedented pandemic. But while the economy has done well, we should have stopped to seriously consider fundamental social foundations before budget distributions were made. 800 social housing properties is nice, but not nearly enough with 50,000 applications for an affordable home and 5000 of those in priority situations. What happens in our NSW communities if more of our families spiral downward instead of upwards?

Professor Matthew Desmond a sociologist at Princeton University tells us “We can start with housing, the sturdiest of footholds for economic mobility. A national affordable housing program would be an anti-poverty effort, human capital investment, community improvement plan, and public health initiative all rolled into one.”  

What kind of citizens are we? What kind of society do we want in NSW? NSW could have led the way.

[1] See full referenced article ‘Are Electric Cars Really Greener?” at  https://youmatter.world/en/are-electric-cars-eco-friendly-and-zero-emission-vehicles-26440/   

| Rise up; this matter is in your hands. We will support you, so take courage and do it.

Ezra 10:4

It may seem a bit of a stretch to associate the work of Churches Housing with the task that Ezra had before him.  Ezra was seeking to lead the Israelites back to the promised land after being in exile in Babylon.  This was clearly a matter of national importance to God’s people. 

This short verse contains a call to action that I feel is relevant to Churches Housing and its members.

Churches Housing is also at a pivotal point. 

There is much to celebrate from our past achievements. We have witnessed significant increase in new housing supply over the past few years, with the construction of close to 3,000 social and affordable dwellings. With each of these, Churches Housing played a role in planting the seed and nurturing its growth.

Yet now is the time to chart the future of how we work with our members going forward.  There are still too many people struggling to provide a safe and secure roof over their head for themselves and their families.  COVID-19 continues to have a major impact on our communities. Those likely to feel it the most will be those less fortunate in our society and those whose circumstances through the COVID journey brought significant loss and change.

On a local level, Churches Housing has also undergone a period of change. 

We farewelled Magnus Linder, our former CEO.  At the beginning of the year, Philippa Yelland announced her intention to relocate to regional NSW.   With the changes in our leadership team, the board of Churches Housing embarked upon an extensive executive recruitment process to prepare us for the future.

I am pleased to announce that Rose Thomson has joined Churches Housing as our new CEO. 

Rose comes with a passion for helping the vulnerable and extensive experience in working with members, navigating complex organisations and advocating with senior levels of government.  Over the coming months, there will be more opportunity to hear from Rose and how she will work with our members to help house the vulnerable in our society.

As we seek to chart our future in this new era, I echo the words of Ezra. “Rise up; this matter is in your hands. We will support you, so take courage and do it.” (Ezra 10:4)

• “Rise Up” – we all need to be vocal about the needs and plight of the vulnerable in our community.  This call to action requires us to advocate to our own organisation and our broader networks – our churches, our clubs, our friends
• This matter is in your hands – we each need to do this and not just rely on others to advocate
• We will support you – an important reminder of the role that Churches Housing can provide.  We remain keen to hear from you as to how we best support you
• So take courage and do it – we need to be bold and continue to move forward regardless of setbacks

Once again, a very warm welcome to Churches Housing for Rose.

Rob Burnelek
Chair, Churches Housing

Churches and faith-based organisations, alongside the many individual philanthropists, corporate and community leaders who are driven by their personal faith and values, all play an important role in contributing to the wellbeing of society, and in building thriving families and communities.

Some might say it is critical role, as the focus and support of governments can shift and change and funding for a range of services and programs can ebb and flow with those changes.

The Church broadly, and the faith-based organisations and individuals, have been there supporting the vulnerable and influencing policy for centuries. Alongside historical periods of failure for some, has been a huge contribution of good works across the centuries that often does not get enough recognition.

With the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, the right to adequate housing joined the body of international, universally applicable, and universally accepted human rights law. Accordingly, safe, secure, and adequate housing is universally viewed as one of the most basic human needs.

The significance of a secure place to live for human dignity, physical and mental health, and overall quality of life is at the heart of the work at Churches Housing in partnership with our members and the NSW government, to provide social and affordable housing in our State.

Housing is essential to human flourishing. Without stable shelter, it all falls apart.

I am a firm believer of the view of scholar Professor Matthew Desmond who states that “we can start with housing, the sturdiest of footholds for economic mobility. A national affordable housing program would be an anti-poverty effort, human capital investment, community improvement plan, and public health initiative all rolled into one.”

The power of collaboration and partnerships is a tremendous thing. I look forward to contributing further to this important work. I am a great supporter of cross-sector collaborations so that those we seek to support receive the highest level of advantage – and I look forward to working alongside other peak bodies, in our mutual endeavours. I also look forward to engaging with researchers and policy makers as we work toward the provision of safe, secure and affordable housing as a basic human right.

In the coming quarter I hope to visit our members and listen to how we might add value to their work and strengthen services and support as we move forward into ‘post pandemic’ life and a new strategic period at Churches Housing.

I arrived on the 10th of May to a rich legacy here at Churches Housing established by the late Derek Yule and continued by Magnus Linder, and to a warm welcome from the Board for which I am most appreciative.  

I hope to meet many of you soon, as we journey on. If you are not connected with me on LinkedIn please do, and please feel free to contact me if you would like me to visit.

Rose Thomson
CEO, Churches Housing
M        0408 002 672
rose.thomson@churcheshousing.org.au
linkedin.com/in/rosemaryrosethomson

Churches Housing recognizes that the Federal Government has made significant and worthy commitments across a range of sectors, but an opportunity for national leadership was missed in the recent Federal Budget.

Of note is the contribution to Aged Care which supports an aging population to remain in their home for required care, but an issue of concern is for the elderly that do not have a home or are suffering housing insecurity in the current compromised rental market.

There is considerable new support for the services needed in our communities related to mental health and suicide, the provision of training and employment support to drive jobs and skills, childcare, and new initiatives for first homeowners and single parents, and these matters are important to building a strong economy and supporting our citizens.

But right in the middle of it, is a disclaimer of the need to add social and affordable housing to the infrastructure projects, that would be a significant contributor to the mental health, and the hope for resilient citizens that can transform futures alongside the capability and skill building.

While the matter of housing is typically managed at the State level, the rising housing disaster post pandemic (job losses, housing losses and increased domestic violence), post fires, post floods and out-of-control markets have blitzed the basic housing needs and dreams of many Australians.

Australia must add this basic human right as a central tenant to the way we build our future. We cannot wait for vulnerable aging women, families escaping domestic violence, and those in crisis post pandemic, floods, and fires to escalate into homelessness.

The flow-on impact to philanthropic organisations trying to help the safety, security, education and health of Australian children, women and families, creates massive challenges for the ongoing provision of support across Church and Community organisations who work every day to make the lives of vulnerable Australians more secure.

We are not a socialist country but we must work to narrow the gap. We want to remain the ‘lucky country’, and we could lead the way in innovative approaches to address the housing issues for the increasing number of disadvantaged citizens – not set them off to one side, as this will see a rapidly increasing downward spiral in the wellbeing of too many Australians.

Churches Housing Inc. is the peak body representing the many wonderful faith-based organisations – from Anglicare through to Wesley Mission – and church denominations, philanthropists and individuals who work to provide housing for so many in our communities.

Now more than ever is the time for critical partnerships between government both Federal and State to offer affordable housing – a National Strategy and plan would be a great start!  

Rose Thomson
CEO, Churches Housing

Churches Housing welcomes the release of the NSW Government’s eagerly awaited housing strategy for the next 20 years:  Housing 2041: 2021-22 Action Plan, NSW Housing Strategy.

The Strategy contains many good concepts that may help deliver good housing outcomes.  However, it is comprised of very high level broad statements with limited specifics. For example, no meaningful targets, modeling, or funding details are documented in the Strategy, so it is not clear how its objectives will be achieved.  On the issue of funding, we are very much hoping that the 22 June NSW Budget will contain appropriate provisions to deliver the Strategy’s 2021-2022 Action Plan.

The Strategy does contain some encouraging initiatives.  Without mentioning them all, encouragingly for the Church sector, we note some of the key initiatives.

The Strategy;

1. recognised that Government-owned land can contribute to more supply, particularly social and affordable housing;
   
   
2. identified enhanced partnerships and cross-sector collaboration as one way to increase supply;
   
   
3. has as a ‘Priority Area’: the enabling of access to, and promotion of, data and evidenced-based decision making;

• promoted the need for new sources of sustainable funding for affordable housing; and,
  
  
• committed to the establishment of an expert advisory panel and strategy implementation team.

On some of these points, our members/the sector, may have the following opportunities arise and contributions to make:

1. A register of NSW Government Land will be established, to help stakeholders to identify opportunities and submit proposals for the use of NSW Government land for housing.
   
   In addition to finding any such NSW Government land and pursuing identified opportunities, should a Church own adjacent land that could be ‘combined’ with NSW Government land for greater housing and social outcomes, it strengthens the opportunity.  In particular, the NSW Government’s ‘Unsolicited Proposals’ requirements may be more easily satisfied in such ‘combined development proposals’ given their ‘uniqueness’ compared to just wanting to use NSW Government land.

We may be able help with a mapping exercise of Church and NSW Government land – please let us know if you require our assistance.

• Similar to the idea of leveraging NSW Government land for housing – land-owning organisations with an interest in housing (eg. Church Parishes) should proactively engage in dialogue with the NSW Government to encourage the exploration of what partnerships and cross-sector collaboration opportunities may exist, to increase housing supply.  Churches Housing Inc. is available to assist with such explorations and negotiations.
  
  
• Church land that can be made available for social and affordable housing (at a concessional rate) may be prime candidates for the sustainable funding solutions championed by the Strategy.

• Regarding the focus of data and evidence-based decision making, WelcomeMat (an affordable rental housing portal incubated by Churches Housing) may also be able to contribute and help complete the NSW Government’s desired housing and demographic data sets.

Overall, as part of the NSW Government’s desire to think and operate innovatively to increase housing supply, it is likely that other possibilities will arise over time. Accordingly, we encourage all our members to keep a watching brief for the opportunities as they arise.  Churches Housing will do the same.

In the meantime, as one of our priorities, Churches Housing has approached the NSW Government’s Housing Strategy Implementation team, with an offer to host an online forum for our members.  It would include an overview and Q&A session for our members, plus provide an opportunity to show the NSW Government what our sector has delivered and the potential to do more.  We will let you know once we hear back from them. 

If you would like to download a copy of the NSW Housing Strategy, or Churches Housing’s earlier joint submission (with Anglicare, and with the endorsement of several members), you may do so here: Housing Strategy and Churches Housing /Anglicare Submission. [ROB: Hyperlinks to https://churcheshousing.org.au/churches-housing-heads-submission-to-nsw-state-government/ and https://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/Policy-and-Legislation/Housing/A-Housing-Strategy-for-NSW/Our-Vision]

Single women over the age of 55 are among those who will soon have another place to call home as Anglicare Sydney’s social and affordable housing development in Mount Druitt nears completion.

Designed to be a community, the development has three, eight-story building complexes consisting of 55 strata units,113 affordable housing units, and a single level linked basement with 102 residential spaces, visitor car parking and various community spaces that are landscaped throughout.

Rob Burnelek, Anglicare’s General Manager of Housing said “Mount Druitt is one of nine Anglicare developments providing social and affordable housing in partnership with the NSW Government’s Social and Affordable Housing Fund.

Our philosophy is that it doesn’t matter how you’ve come to live in one of our homes, we will not only give you a house, but we will also build for you a community. That includes working to not only ensure our tenancy management services are well resourced, but it also means integrating other services Anglicare offers into the community.”

At Mount Druitt, 55 strata units that have been purchased by people off the plan as affordable homes and the feedback from prospective buyers has been encouraging.

Anglicare’s selling agent, James Bell from McGrath, said there had been no resistance to the mixed-use concept and the project had been selling well since July last year.

“We were very careful and very open about the fact that the building was shared, but buyers felt comfortable and the market was very accepting,” Mr Bell recently told the Australian Financial Review.

In addition to a welcoming and community minded philosophy, Anglicare is building connections with the local Anglican church and this development at Mount Druitt.

Anglicare’s Partnership Development Officer, Stephen Kuo, has said churches value and appreciate the partnerships and services offered by Anglicare within their parishes.

“I know the churches we partner with look forward to welcoming new people to the neighbourhood,” Mr Kuo said.

It’s greatly encouraging seeing people who have embraced a new home thanks to some of Anglicare’s other developments. These have been a truly life changing moment in their lives.”

With an increasing number of single, senior women being vulnerable to housing stress and homelessness, the upcoming completion of this project will be a welcome relief to many.  

We are pleased to congratulate BaptistCare on reaching the (second) ‘turning of the first sod’ milestone for its largest community housing development at Carlingford. The project will deliver 162 much-needed social and affordable housing units for seniors and single-parent families. 

To celebrate the commencement of the project, BaptistCare’s CEO, Charles Moore, was joined by the former NSW Minister of Families, Communities and Disability Services, Gareth Ward.

As many of you would be aware, the Carlingford site has a long history with BaptistCare.  The six-acre parcel of land was originally purchased by BaptistCare for £2000 in 1948, and in 1953, ‘Yallambi’ home was built to support elderly women during the post-war period.  Many older Australians continued to be housed there up until 2017, when Baptistcare relocated the residents to their ‘Gracewood Aged Care Centre’ in Kellyville, in anticipation of the Carlingford redevelopment.

The new housing precinct features three 4-storey unit blocks with an underground car park, plus a central courtyard for the community’s enjoyment.  With a focus on seniors, more than 60% of the housing will be allocated to this fast-growing cohort of people under housing stress.

Upon completion of the Carlingford project, Baptistcare will own and operate more than 650 community housing residences over 13 locations in NSW.

The delivery of the project will also see the completion of a 500 unit partnership that BaptistCare has had with the NSW Government. 

Churches Housing looks forward to celebrating the completed project with Baptistcare in the not-too-distant future – their work remains invaluable and on mission!

We are delighted to welcome two new members to Churches Housing from very diverse organisations.

MayFair Real Estate is led by dynamic duo, business partners Chantal and Karem.  At Mayfair, they make buying, selling and managing properties simple, stress-free (and even fun). Their approach is built on connecting people with property they love – Sydney wide.

As they observed the increasing challenges for families to locate affordable housing, they have developed a heart to create WhiteChapel Community Housing where they will take their resources and networks and start creating affordable rental listings through their rent roll where possible.

They will also start talking with developers on partnerships for affordable home developments as a Housing Provider. They are at the start of the journey to register as a Community Housing Provider with support from Churches Housing consultancy services, and look forward to meeting other members and seeking their experiential wisdom.

Chantal is a vibrant powerhouse who for the last decade has worked in the social and affordable housing sector with various community housing providers – which may include some Churches Housing Members – through her sister company C&J Group.

Chantal says, “I have been so blessed and I just want to give back and my business and networks create a great opportunity to build our vision for creating WhiteChapel Community Housing. We are excited to become members of Churches Housing and commencing this journey with their support.”

ACCA is a not-for-profit organisation that was formed to serve the Chinese-Australian community in NSW.  Since its foundation in 1974, ACCA has been providing community services such as aged home care, aged day care, dementia service, interest classes and Chinese language classes as well as organising various cultural and Chinese festival events throughout the year. ACCA has also organised and been involved in various activities promoting multiculturalism and anti-racism as well as fundraising for victims of natural disasters. 

They provide a wide range of government-funded home and community care services, including Home Care Packages, Commonwealth Support Programme and NDIS.  They are also looking to add affordable housing to their portfolio.

John Hugh is Director and Secretary of the large and active Assn which has over 13,000 members. He is a former councillor of Paramatta.

Churches Housing is pleased to welcome the Australian Chinese Community Association of NSW (ACCA) to the fold.

We look forward to seeing ACCA and Mayfair Real Estate collaborating and networking with our other members and supporters – please give them a warm welcome when you see them at Network Forums.

By Katrina Reye

Partner

Hall & Willcox Law

There has never been a better time to invest in Australia’s social housing stock. Funding is at record low levels, the economic benefits would add to our recovery from the COVID-19 recession, and research shows social housing can reduce strain on other government services.

Building more social housing not only has a widespread positive economic effect, it aligns with the 2021-22 Federal Budget’s focus on employment – social housing provides undoubted immediate stimulus from the many architects, engineers, planners, professional services, construction and tradespeople employed.

In its Budget, the Federal Government announced $127.4 million in funding over 2021 and 2022 to support workers in the housing and homeless sector. This is useful, but does not address shortages in social housing stock. While well-publicised initiatives such as HomeBuilder and the New Home Guarantee scheme provide stimulus to the private sector, social housing requires government intervention and must be considered as critical infrastructure for our economic and social wellbeing. This was acknowledged in Anthony Albanese’s budget reply speech where he pledged to deliver an additional 20,000 social housing properties in the first five years if the Labour government was elected.

Australia’s social housing system was already under strain before the pandemic, and this has only increased post-COVID. While there are positive signs in business confidence and prospects of a  ‘V-shaped’ economic recovery, social housing will remain left behind without action.

There is compelling economic opportunity in governments taking action and committing to more government investment in social housing stock. Such investment provides significant economic stimulus and jobs growth. But it also provides another important economic benefit – providing a home.

Research shows stable shelter is integral in being able to hold down secure employment, to live in and contribute to a community. It has also been shown to reduce costs on government services such as health care. The whole community benefits from having its people reliably and well housed. None of us benefit from social housing uncertainty.

Government intervention is critical because evidence shows the private sector will not produce new housing stock without it.

An unusual merging of events

Before COVID-19, wait lists for social housing in many parts of Australia had blown out to chronic levels. In my home patch of the Hunter Valley, and in much of NSW, wait times of around 10 years for social housing is common. It’s a similar story across many parts of Australia.

COVID-19 was always going to introduce additional challenges as the virus spread and plunged the economy into recession – we weren’t exactly sure how these challenges would materialise, and the results have been quite unexpected.

Higher unemployment was exacerbated by a unique combination of higher house prices, fuelled by record low interest rates, and higher rents – this has been keenly felt in the regions, where city dwellers have fled to buy or rent housing.

While there remain under-performing pockets in the private rental market, such as inner city apartments aimed at international students, we are seeing widespread and coordinated boom conditions in housing across Australia.

Meanwhile, community housing providers have had to negotiate an environment where there has been downward pressure on rents as tenants have struggled to meet their rental commitments, and there has been moratoriums on evictions.

This unusual merging of events has created arguably the hardest conditions for social housing seen in some time.

A compelling opportunity for governments and communities

The conditions are perfect for government to create new social housing stock, and there should be more projects with some level of government funding.

The most ambitious recent move was announced by the government of Victoria, a plan to introduce new housing stock and stimulate the economy via its ‘big housing build’ program. This program aims to provide fast starts to community housing – with streamlined planning – to be spread across Victoria, including the regions. Similar programs could have a tangible impact in other states.

While there have been welcome Budget announcements in NSW this year, when we analyse the investment we see most funds have been directed to apprenticeships in social housing and maintenance of existing dwellings. These funds address an important issue, but the most acute problem remains lack of stock across the nation, and this is where the biggest opportunity lies.

Aside from ‘big housing builds’, governments may also consider the following options:

• simplifying the SAHF program in NSW, making it easier to administer and building on the sector’s current experience by releasing additional rounds of funding;
• making clearer pathways for unsolicited proposals for community housing providers that have land available for the construction of fresh social housing. This may need subsidisation from government to allow the land to be used for social housing stock and not general residential or affordable housing;
• extending the NRAS scheme or making clear announcements about what schemes or funding is going to replace it as the program winds down; and
• considering programs like the ‘big housing build’ program in other jurisdictions.

With unemployment, house prices and rents rising in unison, it is harder than ever for people who would fall into social housing to get social housing. Long wait times were a reality pre-COVID, but are likely to worsen as social housing supply fails to meet demand.

With funding available at record low rates, there has arguably never been a better time to invest in the nation’s social housing stock. And there has arguably never been a greater need for the economic stimulus this would provide.

Used with permission