Housing Strategy Green Paper. Community housing provider submission. Submitted by Anglicare SA, Junction Housing & Unity Housing Company

Transcription

1 Housing Strategy Green Paper Community housing provider submission Submitted by Anglicare SA, Junction Housing & Unity Housing Company December 2011

2 For further information, please contact: Andrew Davies. General Manager Housing & Homelessness Services, Anglicare SA Scott Langford. General Manager, Junction Housing Matthew Woodward. Chief Executive, Unity Housing Company Document prepared with the assistance of: Dr Tony Gilmour. Senior Project Manager, Elton Consulting Front cover: New affordable housing developed by junction Housing at Seaford Meadows

3 9 December 2011 Housing Strategy Green Paper We are pleased to provide this detailed submission in response to the recently issued Green Paper. The Paper sets out a direction for future housing policy, which we broadly support. However, to turn this vision into a reality, we need a clearer set of directions incorporated into the new 2012 Housing Strategy that will help further build the capacity of community housing providers. The last decade has seen an unprecedented growth in the scale and professionalisation of Australia s community housing organisations. Although there has been progress in the South Australian sector, it has been modest compared to other jurisdictions due to limitations imposed through policy settings. This has placed our state at a disadvantage when bidding for national funding and forming cross-sector partnerships to deliver sustainable neighbourhoods. We need to follow examples from other states and overseas in transferring public housing stock, building capacity and fully leveraging innovative funding approaches. Community housing providers need to operate with more independence from the state, under a modern regulatory system that both protects public investment and ensures excellent outcomes for tenants. Our three organisations encompass the most sophisticated and innovative not-for-profit housing providers in the state. We understand the needs of the communities in which we operate, combining strong social missions with the necessary business acumen. Anglicare SA, Junction Housing and Unity Housing Company are becoming at-scale developers of affordable housing in South Australia, with a proven ability to increase the supply of affordable housing to help meet Ministerial targets. Through partnering with government agencies, other not-for-profit organisations and the private sector, organisations like ours can maximise the number of houses delivered per dollar of public subsidy. Unlike the traditional public housing model where resources are increasingly constrained due to Commonwealth under-funding, the community housing model is economically and socially sustainable. We hope this submission gives clear guidance to Government on how the community housing sector can play an expanded role in delivering high quality, affordable housing, supporting high needs groups and building sustainable communities. Yours faithfully Dr Lynn Arnold AO Chief Executive Officer Anglicare SA Graham Brown Chief Executive Officer Junction Housing Matthew Woodward Chief Executive Officer Unity Housing Company

4 Unity Housing Company s development at Elizabeth for high need tenants, part funded using NRAS incentives

5 Contents 1 The Community Housing Vision Australia s innovative sector Expanding the sector A sustainable growth model 4 2 How Does South Australia Compare? The community housing sector Regulation Funding, asset ownership and rent setting NRAS allocations A firm foundation Section conclusions 13 3 Learning from Best Practice Building capacity through stock transfer Supporting the growth of community housing Dynamic partnerships to re-develop social housing estates Financial innovation to support affordable housing Building strong communities Section conclusions 22 4 Helping Achieve the Housing Strategy s Vision Creating sustainable neighbourhoods (direction 1) Building housing industry capacity (direction 2) Facilitating high needs housing opportunities (direction 3) Improving housing access and support (direction 5) 28 References 30

6 Affordable Housing delivered by Unity Housing Company in Adelaide s northern suburbs

7 1 The Community Housing Vision Community housing is affordable rental housing provided by not-for-profit organisations at below market rent for low to moderate income tenants. It forms an integral part of Australia s housing system by providing housing options that are reasonably priced, secure and responsive to the needs of the neighbourhoods in which the organisations operate. 1.1 Australia s innovative sector Contemporary community housing organisations are run by professional managers, and supervised by highly skilled Boards of Directors. They are accountable to tenants, the community and government for the effectiveness of the service provided and their use of public funds. Unlike the larger and centrally controlled public housing agencies such as Housing SA, community housing providers can be more locally responsive. They work closely with local service agencies and not-for-profit partners, building social cohesion in what were once challenging neighbourhoods. During the last decade the role of Australian community housing providers has been transformed, following similar patterns seen in North America and Europe. Organisations have retained their local accountability and community focus, while becoming increasingly professional and innovative:» Many larger community housing providers have raised private finance, increasing the pot of money available to invest in affordable housing without increasing government debt.» In larger Australian cities, community housing organisations have become key partners in urban regeneration, and the transformation of troubled public housing estates. Many organisations are skilled at working closely with partners from the public and private sectors, and with other more traditional not-for-profit welfare agencies.» Several not-for-profit organisations have helped subsidise new housing production through undertaking commercial property development schemes. This helps fund new affordable housing supply, and create mixed-income mixed-tenure neighbourhoods.» Community housing organisations have established social enterprises, involved tenants in their operation and innovated with new forms of service delivery and neighbourhood support. This allows organisations to act as community anchors, integrating housing with human service support more effectively than if delivered direct by the public sector. 1.2 Expanding the sector In 2009 Commonwealth and State Housing Ministers agreed to develop a large scale not-for-profit sector comprising up to 35% of social housing by Currently community housing providers have around an 11% share of total social housing (Australian Government, 2010). The key policy driver has been to leverage private finance against the sector s assets to maximise the supply of new affordable housing per dollar of government subsidy. Governments have looked to boost the growth of larger, higher capacity community housing providers as these are the organisations best able to become affordable housing developers, form partnerships and raise private finance. South Australia established a system of preferred growth providers in August 2009, though registration is due to expire in 2012 with no current plans to extend. This expiry date is before the likely introduction of the recently announced move towards national regulation of community housing providers (Australian Government, 2011b). Community housing provider submission 3

8 1.3 A sustainable growth model Public housing agencies have suffered over decades from restricted Commonwealth finance, and have struggled to develop new housing stock or keep pace with necessary property maintenance. Housing SA has been in a particularly difficult situation as Commonwealth funds are allocated based on a state s headcount, not current numbers of social housing dwellings. As a result of these factors, Housing SA has been forced to reduce their portfolio size. From a peak of 63,000 social housing properties in 1993, the total had fallen to under 43,000 currently. To reduce public debt, the aim has been to sell 8,000 public housing units between 2007 and 2015 (KPMG, 2010). Given current property market conditions, it is highly unlikely this target will be met. This will further undermine the long term financial sustainability of South Australian public housing. By contrast, a community housing organisations which has title to the properties it manages can grow their portfolio. This can be achieved by offering a range of rent settings, including some affordable housing rents which in the case of National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS) are up to 80% of local market rents. Community housing organisations can also capture Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA) for their properties. Cashflow surpluses generated per property can be used to raise bank finance, secured against the property asset. Loans then fund new property construction. In the UK and the Netherlands overseas, and in NSW and Victoria in Australia, this leveraging approach to increasing the supply of affordable housing has become accepted government housing policy. There are also successful examples in South Australia. Example 1 shows how Junction Housing have achieved a leverage against government funding of 30% to help deliver 87 much needed new rental properties south from Adelaide. Unity Housing Company, the largest not-for-profit housing provider in South Australia and one of the largest dozen in Australia, has used NRAS incentives to leverage private finance in a $40 million development program to produce 137 units of affordable accommodation. They are also aiming to develop up to 200 additional units of housing using NRAS incentives recently won in round four. Unity Housing achieved approximately 32% leverage on their first NRAS developments, with a mixed tenancy model resulting in lower levels of leverage for housing targeted to very low income groups (20%), and higher leverage possible on housing targeted to moderate and low income households (40%). With additional equity also provided by Unity Housing, State Government s capital contribution is lower than 50% of development costs on 35% of these properties. 4 Housing Strategy Green Paper

9 South Australian Example 1 Junction Housing: Leveraging affordable housing using a mixed funding model Junction Housing used South Australian Government capital grants from the Affordable Housing Innovation Fund and the Mental Health Housing and Support Partnership to leverage outside funding, demonstrating the capacity of sophisticated housing providers to optimise housing outcomes from the investment of public funds. In 2009 Junction Housing was successful in securing $16 million in State Government grants through a competitive tender process, along with 83 NRAS incentives from the Commonwealth. These funds have been leveraged through raising $6.3 million in debt facilities from HomeStart and Westpac Bank, and over $600,000 in philanthropic grants from the Wyatt Benevolent Institution. In total there has been a leverage against public funding of over 30% By June 2012 the project will have delivered 87 affordable rental dwellings that cater for a variety of people including those with high and complex need clients, and a mixture of very low income, low income and moderate income households. The new properties are spread across 31 project sites, located from inner south of Adelaide through to regional areas such as Victor Harbor and Goolwa. These include greenfield and urban regeneration sites, with properties built at both traditional and medium densities. Across the development, higher rates of leverage were achieved on dwellings targeted to moderate income households, while very low income households attracted the deepest subsidy through State Government capital grants. Debt funding was modelled beyond the initial 10 years of NRAS funding to ensure that debt facilities could be carried without the need to sell down stock at the end of the NRAS period. This provides flexibility in regards future use of properties and asset management strategies. Junction Housing achieve further leverage by acting as the developer for its projects, ensuring the developer s margin is retained by a not-for-profit organisation and used to fund further high quality housing and social outcomes. Community housing provider submission 5

10 Anniversary Apartments: affordable housing developed by Junction Housing

11 2 How Does South Australia Compare? The Green Paper envisages that the not-for-profit sector will have a vital role in delivery of the Planning Strategy (Government of SA, 2011: p.32). For this to happen, the sector needs to have a number of high capacity community housing providers capable of developing property, raising finance and forming complex partnerships. This section assesses whether the state s not-for-profit sector has grown at the same rate as in other Australian jurisdictions. 2.1 The community housing sector With the support of the Commonwealth and most state governments, there has been a substantial increase in the number of properties managed by the community housing sector over recent years. Between 2007 and 2010, the number of Australian households in community housing rose by around 20%, from 35,500 to 42,400. However, the rate of growth has varied between jurisdictions. From Figure 1, in the three years to 2010 there was an increase of just 5% in South Australian community housing, compared to increases of 24% in NSW and 86% in Victoria. All major states with the exception of South Australia showed a major expansion of the sector in even Queensland and Western Australia who were late to develop community housing strategies. Figure 1: Households in community housing properties, 30 June, ,000 18,000 16,000 14,000 12,000 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2, NSW Vic. Qld. WA SA Source: AIHW (2008; 2009; 2010; 2011a) Community housing provider submission 7

12 The community housing sector has become dominated by a small number of larger growth providers. Of the 959 organisations in the sector in June 2010, only 52 managed more than 200 properties though hold around two thirds of the total housing stock in the sector (AIHW, 2011a). However, it is really only the twenty or so very large organisations that have the capacity to develop new housing stock at scale (Milligan et al., 2009). From Table 1, Australia s largest community housing providers are dominated by organisations in NSW and Victoria, with only one organisation, Unity Housing, represented from South Australia. These are the two jurisdictions that have invested most in building sector capacity, transferring stock and encouraging organisations raising private finance. Table 1: Large community housing providers, 2010 Rank Organisation Jurisdiction Properties 1 St George Community Housing NSW 3,000 2 Community Housing Limited VIC 2,286 3 Affordable Community Housing NSW 2,044 4 Common Equity Housing VIC 2,000 5 Compass Housing Services NSW 1,740 6 Argyle Community Housing NSW 1,500 7 Wentworth Community Housing NSW 1,487 8 Hume Community Housing Association NSW 1,354 9 Bridge Housing NSW 1, Horizon Housing Company (Gold Coast) QLD 1, Housing Choices Australia VIC 1, Unity Housing SA 1, Foundation Housing WA 1, Access Housing Association WA Brisbane Housing Company QLD Pacific Link Community Housing Association NSW North Coast Community Housing NSW Yarra Community Housing VIC walls Limited QLD Haven Housing (Loddon Mallee) VIC 700 Source: Research by Tony Gilmour based on analysis of annual reports to 30 June Some housing stock numbers are approximations. 8 Housing Strategy Green Paper

13 2.2 Regulation One reason why the community housing sector has expanded more slowly in South Australia is the State Government s approach to regulation. Jurisdictions such as NSW, Victoria and the ACT, with comprehensive regulation, have increased their community housing sectors by 9.7% between 2005 and In contrast jurisdictions with other approaches, including South Australia, have only grown by 6.9% (Australian Government, 2011b). This is one reason why the approaches used in NSW, Victoria and ACT look set to be rolled-out nationally by South Australian community housing regulation is based within the state housing authority, closely linking regulation with funding and policy decisions. This is unlike states such as NSW and Victoria where there is a separate Registrar acting at arms -length to government. The contemporary approach to housing regulation is to allow not-for-profits room to innovate with less direct state control. As noted in an AHURI research report prepared for a review of the Housing Trust in 2010: Regulatory and reporting approaches that micromanage partnerships with the not for profit sector are generally ineffective. Outcomes approaches to managing partnerships can be more effective (quoted in KPMG, 2010: p.78). South Australia may in fact be seen to have gone backwards compared to the arms -length approach seen in NSW and Victoria in that the previous regulator, the South Australian Community Housing Authority which was independent of the public housing authority, was dissolved by the Statutes Amendment (Affordable Housing) Act Community Partnerships and Growth continues the work of the Authority, as a directorate within Housing SA, in the Department for Families and Communities. From onwards, annual reporting for Community Housing is included in the South Australian Housing Trust annual report. The regulated organisations in South Australia comprise 18 preferred growth providers, 26 housing associations and 49 cooperatives. In contrast to other jurisdictions, several of the growth providers are small and have not yet been supported to develop new properties. By contrast Anglicare SA, Junction Housing and Unity Housing Company are all preferred growth providers that have undertaken property development and expanded their housing stock. South Australia needs a core group of larger, highly resourced community housing organisations as exist in other jurisdictions. This will make it easier for the State Government to allocate housing funds by competitive tender, ensuring best value for public investment. Tenders have been used extensively in NSW and Victoria, encouraging considerable innovation by housing groups. With the housing cooperatives, the sector is fragmented across a number of smaller organisations and the move to a common equity approach, which allows access to external funding to develop properties, has been slow. Common Equity will not be launched until 2012, and only cover a small number of cooperatives. Victoria has long supported the common equity model, and in NSW the State Government took the lead in 2009 in establishing Common Equity NSW. The more arms -length approach to sector consolidation amongst South Australian cooperatives by State Government will delay the sector achieving critical mass. Community housing provider submission 9

14 2.3 Funding, asset ownership and rent setting South Australia s general approach to managing the community housing sector now differs to all other jurisdictions, with the possible exception of the Northern Territory where there are very few community housing organisations. For example, in contrast to elsewhere in Australia, the majority of community housing assets are debentured to the state government and therefore not available to be used as security for private finance. Furthermore, community housing organisations have to return all revenue surpluses to the government on each property managed as a capital contribution, after retaining a modest amount to cover management and maintenance expenses. This approach does not encourage community housing organisations to increase their operating efficiency, and does not allow surpluses to be used to support bank borrowing. In terms of funding, the South Australian Affordable Housing Innovations Fund (AHIF) was established to stimulate additional rental housing using a substantial equity injection by the state to be matched by bids from not-for-profit organisations. Non-traditional housing agencies such as faith and welfare organisations have been among the recipients of AHIF funds, as they have the capital most resources in the form of land and financial reserves. Mainstream South Australian community housing providers have at times been in a less favourable position to bid for AHIF funding, as they cannot use their cashflows or assets to borrow. Therefore South Australia s approach to funding community housing has fragment(ed) the development of an affordable housing sector through promoting diverse partners, rather than building core capacity (Milligan et al., 2009: p.45). South Australian community housing providers are also more constrained on increasing their rental income due to an insistence that allocations and rents on debentured properties are set in line with public housing policies. This mainly restricts community housing organisations to taking tenants with high or special needs, on low incomes, where rent setting is based on a maximum of 25% of household income. Other jurisdictions are moving to a more diverse rent setting policy, with some rents based on a discount to local market rents. This allows inter-state community housing groups to offer more of a housing continuum, accommodating households with a range of very low, low and moderate incomes. Diverse rent setting policies not only contribute to community viability and social inclusion, but also generate cashflow surpluses which support bank borrowing, thereby allowing community housing providers in other jurisdictions to build new homes. The slow growth of the South Australian community housing sector is minimising the State Government s ability to leverage Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA). One of the main drivers for states and territories growing the not-for-profit sector is that community housing tenants who are recipients of statutory income can claim CRA which is normally captured by the housing provider not the tenant(milligan et al., 2009). This extra funding can be used to support higher levels of bank finance, at least in jurisdictions that do not have a debenture system. As at September 2011, CRA payable under the Family Assistance Act ranged from $ to $ per fortnight, dependent on family circumstances (FaHCSIA, 2011). This is equivalent to a maximum of $3,860 per household per year. If the South Australian community housing sector had expanded at the same rate as in NSW since 2007, there would be an additional income from CRA of over $13 million per year. This is a source of Commonwealth funding that has been forsaken by South Australia due to the state s policy settings not supporting a faster growth of the community housing sector. 10 Housing Strategy Green Paper

15 2.4 NRAS allocations The National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS) provides a mix of Commonwealth and State capital subsidy over 10 years to part-finance the construction of affordable rental accommodation rented at up to 80% of local market rents. South Australia s allocation of 2,909 incentives out of a national total of 39,292 to the end of October 2011 is disappointing. In comparing NRAS incentive allocation to state population, South Australia has the second lowest allocation rate of any jurisdiction. The policy limitations that have restricted the growth of the South Australian community housing sector are probably the main reason why the NRAS allocations have been disappointing. The state had the second lowest proportion of NRAS incentives awarded to not-for-profit organisation of any jurisdiction. Although all three organisations submitting this paper all received allocations, the largest was only 236 incentives for Unity Housing. In contrast private sector firm Affordable Housing Consulting Pty Limited received 1,478. Private sector firms bidding for NRAS are to be welcomed. However, after 10 years properties held by private organisations can be sold. Therefore, unlike with community housing organisations, there is no long term provision of affordable housing and profits are paid to shareholders rather than re-invested in new affordable housing. State Government is also less able to encourage broader social and urban plan outcomes as private sector NRAS recipients are un-regulated. 2.5 A firm foundation Despite limitations placed on the growth of the South Australian community housing sector through government funding and policy settings, it is well placed to expand in the future and play a role in delivering the proposed new Housing Strategy. South Australian community housing organisations provide excellent levels of service for their tenants. In a 2010 national survey, 84.3% of the state s tenants were satisfied or very satisfied with the level of service. This was the highest level of satisfaction with community housing in any jurisdiction in Australia, and exceeds the proportions for housing tenants (AIHW, 2011b).The state s community housing organisations are also efficient tenancy managers. Net recurrent costs per rental units were lower in South Australia than all states other than Queensland (AIHW, 2011b). By contrast, in 2009 the cost of delivering public housing in South Australia is greater than in all other jurisdictions other than the Northern Territory (KPMG, 2010). The smaller South Australian community housing organisations and cooperatives play a valuable role in providing specialised and personalised service to groups with particular needs, and deliver quality services in harder to reach areas including rural and regional locations. Many of the larger not-for-profit preferred growth providers have a demonstrated capacity to develop properties and form cross-sector partnerships. The three community housing organisations who have prepared this submission each have the appetite, capacity and expertise to manage significant on-going growth. Anglicare SA, Junction Housing and Unity Housing already manage housing portfolios collectively totalling over 2,300 dwellings. The three organisations have been assessed by Government as having robust governance and management structures. All have a demonstrated housing development capability and Community housing provider submission 11

16 are currently managing construction pipelines of over 200 dwellings. Collectively they hold assets of hundreds of millions of dollars, employing over 80 experienced housing professionals:» Anglicare SA was established in 1860, and while it retains strong links with the Anglican Church the organisation operates independently with its own management structure and board of directors. With an annual operating budget of over $90 million, and with 1,500 staff and 900 volunteers, Anglicare provides services that make a positive difference to the lives of 50,000 disadvantaged South Australians every year. As a preferred growth provider, Anglicare SA manage over 750 homes leased to families and individuals in South Australia through partnerships with state agencies, not-for-profit partners and private landlords. There are currently two new affordable housing developments with a capital value of $9 million that will result in a further 43 two-bedroom units at Elizabeth North and Elizabeth East. In addition to this, Anglicare SA are currently developing 67 new Independent Living Units with a capital value of $15 million, as well as new Aged Care facilities with a total capital value in excess of $33 million.» Junction Housing, the trading name for the housing division of Southern Junction Community Services, is part of an independent not-for-profit, community with over 150 staff that has served the needs of marginalised young people and disadvantaged families in Metropolitan Adelaide and regional areas over the last 30 years. Junction Housing is registered as a Preferred Growth Provider, developing and managing affordable rental homes for households with very low, low or moderate incomes. They also provide fee for service management services for other organisations. Junction Housing has recently developed 87 new dwellings worth in excess of $20 million including debt leverage of more than 30% in partnership with state government agencies, private sector developers and builders, local councils, philanthropic supporters and debt funders. More recently, Junction has started developing affordable housing for sale to expand the product offering to low and moderate income households. Proceeds from the sale of properties developed for sale will be reinvested into additional affordable housing outcomes.» Unity Housing Company is the largest single provider of community housing in South Australia, providing a home to more than 1,600 people each night. With a turnover of $21 million in 2011, Unity Housing manages an asset base valued at over $200 million with a staff of 50 operating out of 4 offices across metropolitan Adelaide. Unity was established in 2008 through the transfer of assets from a number of likeminded and highly respected not-for-profit housing organisations that had been delivering housing to low income and disadvantaged people in South Australia for over 30 years. Unity Housing continues to work with high need target groups while developing strategic partnerships with government and the private sector to deliver additional affordable housing stock, at scale (see example 2). The model harnesses resources from State Government Affordable Housing Innovations Fund, NRAS, local government, CRA, the Mental Health Unit, Commonwealth HAF funds, philanthropic donations and $17 million debt finance via a variety of financiers. Over the last 18 months, Unity Housing delivered 137 homes and has a further 200 developments in its own right and another 280 in various partnerships in the pipeline. 12 Housing Strategy Green Paper

17 2.6 Section conclusions With the right State Government policy settings, sophisticated South Australian community housing providers that have the demonstrated capacity and appetite to grow at scale will be able to build on their firm foundations of innovation and efficient management. This will enable the state to close the gap with other jurisdictions in terms of building affordable housing, and help South Australian organisations bid for a greater share of nationally allocated funding such as NRAS incentives. It will also allow greater benefit to be taken of CRA, an extra source of Commonwealth funding which has been used elsewhere in Australia to leverage private finance to build new affordable housing. South Australian Example 2 Unity Housing Company: Helping deliver the Government s housing strategy Unity Housing Company is a not-for-profit special purpose vehicle, established to increase the capacity of the sector to increase the supply of affordable housing, at scale. Unity s model harnesses the strengths of local communities and works in partnership with a complex and diverse blend of private, public and benevolent organisations to produce well located, quality housing which adds value to the communities in which it is located. It is a model that allows people with low incomes to live in Transit Orientated Development (TOD) schemes and other high amenity areas. Tenants are fully integrated with the community to facilitate social and economic participation, rather than living in poorly serviced areas that may compound their disadvantage and hinder access to future opportunities. Community housing provider submission 13

18 South Australian Example 3 Unity Housing Company: Delivery complex affordable housing projects The $13 million Globe East End Apartments, Synagogue Place project is delivering 42 quality two bedroom apartments in the heart of the Rundle St East End precinct in a mixed use apartment building with privately owned apartments making up another 38 dwellings in the building. This project demonstrates a partnership model with dual outcomes for the community and the private sector. The developers, Hindmarsh Property, required the 50% pre sales offered by Unity Housing to finance the project. Correspondingly, Unity Housing would not have been able to develop a project at this scale without the capacity of a large and well established developer. Unity Housing s 42 apartments will provide accommodation for a range of low income people for long term affordable student rental at a rent set at 74.9% of market levels, and some rents set lower at 25% of household income plus CRA. Globe is a quality building with broadband facilities, in a prime location within walking distance to the East End, universities and the new hospital. These apartments will provide long term and affordable accommodation for students from the inner city areas and/or studying at the University of Adelaide. The Globe project demonstrates great housing outcomes that can be achieved through a complex partnership arrangement. Unity Housing and seven partners are contributing to its success:» Commonwealth grant through the Social Housing National Partnership High needs Grant.» State Government grant through the Affordable Housing Innovations Fund (AHIF).» Commonwealth Government NRAS incentives.» Hindmarsh Property Pty Ltd.» bankmecu Ltd.» Adelaide City Council.» Unilodge South Australia Pty Ltd. 14 Housing Strategy Green Paper

19 3 Learning from Best Practice The Community Housing sector has grown in size and been transformed in the activities undertaken over the last decade, both in South Australia and further afield nationally and internationally. There are now a number of good examples of best practice that give pointers to how community housing organisations can adapt some of the innovation and flexibility that has led to success elsewhere. 3.1 Building capacity through stock transfer There are clear examples of the benefits of stock transfer from overseas. In England, not-for-profit housing associations increased from owning 8% of social housing stock in 1981 to 53% in 2008, largely achieved through the large scale voluntary transfer of 1.3 million properties (Pawson et al., 2010). There are now around 400 English housing providers who each manage more than 1,000 properties, with the largest 63 housing associations with more than 10,000 properties under management accounting for 48% of homes in the sector (TSA, 2011). Most English housing association new construction prior to 1988 was funded by public grants. The past two decades have seen a dramatic rise in private finance, mainly through bank loans, with private debt exceeding public grants for the first time in Other forms of finance have become popular, including bond issues, use of developer contributions through the planning system and cross subsidy from market rate property activities. Latest figures at March 2010 indicate drawn bank loans and bonds to English housing associations equivalent to $69 billion (TSA, 2011). Despite national differences between England and Australia, the stock transfer approach highlights several benefits beyond raising private finance to part-finance new affordable housing construction. Stock transfer has helped drive the professionalisation of the entire sector of housing associations, regulators and government agencies. Institutional investors and lenders now have a greater stake in the sector s success, forming a broad coalition supporting affordable housing. Many larger English housing associations have pioneered new and potentially better social housing solutions, environmental design initiatives and approaches to tenant engagement. There is evidence English not-for-profit organisations are taking the lead in neighbourhood regeneration, promoting social inclusion and encouraging higher levels of employment (Gilmour, 2010). Across Australia, but particularly in NSW, Victoria and the ACT, there has been a specific policy of transferring public housing stock to community housing organisations. In some cases this involves transferring the ownership of housing stock already managed by community housing providers. In other situations the property and tenancy management responsibilities of whole estates in regional and remote areas are transferred to community housing organisations. These are not policies that have been pursued in South Australia, except for the transfer of the ownership and management of certain properties built under the Nation Building Economic Stimulus Plan (NBESP). Unlike in many other jurisdictions, South Australia has insisted that NBESP properties house very low income families and formerly homeless individuals. States such as NSW have allowed more flexibility on the rent settings on NBESP stock transfers, with cashflow surpluses from low to moderate income households enabling community housing providers to borrow money and build new homes. Community housing provider submission 15

20 Even if rent settings were more flexible in South Australia, this approach would not be possible on the majority of properties held by the sector as cashflow surpluses have to be paid to Government on all debentured properties. Stock transfers can make a major impact on community housing providers:» Victorian stock transfer. In June 2008 the Victorian Government transferred the ownership of 575 public housing properties already managed by seven large community housing providers. With assets valued in total at $155 million, this was the largest stock transfer of existing properties in Australia to date. These assets are currently being used to allow housing providers to borrow $23.3 million from banks to contribute towards financing construction of new affordable rental homes. With State Government funding up to 75% of the capital costs of new construction, the aim is to develop around $100 million of new affordable housing assets owned and managed by the community housing sector. At an average construction costs of $190,000 per unit, over 525 properties should be made available (Victorian Auditor-General, 2010).» CHC Affordable Housing, ACT. The growth of CHC has been closely linked to stock transfer, with 208 properties transferred from the Territory s public housing stock to manage in CHC subsequently built skills in property development, starting with the $29 million City Edge development in 2002 which was a joint venture with a private company to demolish 143 small and low quality public housing bedsits and construct 126 new dwellings. This was the first non-government driven mixed tenure re-development incorporating public and community housing. Later, as part of the ACT s 2007 Affordable Housing Action Plan, ownership of a further 132 public housing units were transferred to CHC. The properties are being refurbished or rebuilt by 2015, with CHC funding this by leveraging against the $40 million asset value (Milligan et al., 2010). 3.2 Supporting the growth of community housing There have been a number of examples where the public sector has successfully seed funded and supported the growth of new community housing organisations. In England, for example, around half of the current large housing associations were newly established when housing stock was transferred from the control of local councils. Australian examples include:» Port Phillip Housing Association, Victoria. In 1986 St Kilda council formed a housing association to manage properties acquired by council to mitigate the effects of gentrification. Port Phillip Housing started developing its own properties from 1998 using its own resources and Victorian Government funds, and in 2005 all assets were transferred from council to the housing association. By June 2011 the organisation housed 850 residents, owned assets valued at $160 million and had five major housing developments under construction for a further 388 homes (Port Phillip Housing, 2011).» City West Housing, NSW. Established in 1994 by the State Government, City West s remit is to deliver affordable rental housing in inner-city redevelopment areas to help retain a social mix of residents. Seed funding was in the form of $50 million from the Commonwealth, levies on government land sales developer contributions (Milligan et al., 2004). Since foundation, City West has developed over 500 new affordable homes and has been active in securing new forms of funding to help the NSW State Government and City of Sydney Council develop new mixed-income master-planned communities. 16 Housing Strategy Green Paper

21 » Brisbane Housing Company, Queensland. The Queensland Government and Brisbane City Council established this new organisation in 2002 as an independent not-for-profit organisation to increase affordable housing supply in the inner city of Brisbane. Funded with an initial $60 million grant, Brisbane Housing Company has by late 2011 developed over 1,000 new homes, many of which feature award winning design and environmental sustainability features. They have successfully applied for 439 NRAS incentives, with properties being developed through an innovative approach for a community housing provider by establishing relationships with individual private investors (BHC, 2010). These example organisations show that the public sector plays an important role in supporting the early development of community housing organisations. Often significant grants (City West and Brisbane) and/or stock transfers (Port Phillip and CHC) are necessary in order that the organisations can reach critical mass and establish a property development capability. All four example community housing organisations have been run independently of public sector control in order that they can develop innovative housing solutions and work with private sector partners. Increasingly community housing providers operate in partnership arrangements with the public and private sectors to deliver affordable housing, as shown in example Dynamic partnerships to re-develop social housing estates Many jurisdictions in Australia and overseas are investing in the transformation of large, monotenure public housing estates using similar types of public-private-community sector (PPP) approach. Aims usually include moving to a mixed-income, mixed-tenure model by introducing owner-occupied properties, increasing densities, renovating or re-building often tired public housing stock and transferring tenancy management from public housing agencies to community housing organisations. The financial aims typically involve mixing private debt or equity with public subsidy, and using income from private house sales or commercial developments to offset the capital costs of re-building or renovating public housing.» North Beach Place, San Francisco. This US$108 million project completed in 2004 involved the demolition of 229 problematic public housing units at the Fisherman s Wharf tourist precinct and their replacement with 341 rental units 257 for public housing tenants and 84 for moderate income families. The new buildings incorporate a community hub, childcare centre, computer room and small business support unit. The lead developer on the project was BRIDGE Housing, a community housing organisation, working in partnership with state, council and private sector partners. Funding was underpinned by US$55 million tax credits, the largest allocation to date in the US (Gilmour et al., 2010). Community housing provider submission 17

22 » Bonnyrigg, NSW. This$733 million redevelopment of a large public housing estate in Sydney s south west aims to reduce social disadvantage through creating a mixed, inclusive community. The state housing authority issued an open tender to re-build the public housing, introduce private housing and manage the estate for 30 years. The successful consortium included a developer, a bank, facilities management company and St George Community Housing Australia s largest not-for-profit housing provider. Over a 14 year period 833 existing poor quality public housing dwellings are being replaced with 2,330 new homes, of which 699 will be social housing managed by St George and the balance sold to home buyers. The project also involves procuring 134 dwellings off site to ensure the stock of 833 social housing homes is maintained (Australian Government, 2011a).» Glebe, NSW. The Cowper Street site, to the immediate west of Sydney CBD, originally contained 134 walk-up public housing units which needed repairs and were hard to access for elderly tenants. Redevelopment will deliver493 dwellings with a mix of 250 private dwellings for construction and sale by a private developer, and 243community housing homes aimed at low to moderate income households and older people. The social rental dwellings will be developed by City West Housing (see section 3.3 above), with long term ownership and tenancy management shared between City West and another community housing provider, Bridge Housing. The partners include two not-for-profit housing providers, the state housing authority, a private developer and the City Council. Funding includes two Commonwealth sources the Housing Affordability Fund and NRAS incentives. In each of the above examples, the community housing organisation plays a central role in a cross-sectoral partnership to transform the lives of people living on concentrated public housing estates. To be a full partner, the not-for-profit organisations needs to be of sufficient size to both negotiate the complex PPP process, and deliver the high quality outcomes required by public and private sector partners. Significant sized PPPs can only work effectively if they are based in a jurisdiction which has encouraged and supported community housing providers to operate at scale. 3.4 Financial innovation to support affordable housing Contemporary community housing organisations that own their asset portfolios and control surplus cashflows are able to leverage external finance. Often these approaches involve levering finance not available to the state agencies such as bank finance, institutional equity, philanthropic donations and Commonwealth funding. This funding is then used to help supply new affordable housing and meet other commitments such as improving the quality of existing homes. Though these options have been limited in South Australia due to policy settings, both Junction Housing and Unity Housing have successfully pursued this approach.» Housing Choices Australia, Victoria. During the last two years most of the larger community housing organisations have put in place substantial bank facilities. For example, Melbourne based Housing Choices Australia have a $25 million loan from NAB and a $1 million loan from bankmecu, a community owned financial institution. Housing Choices uses these loans towards part funding new affordable housing projects such as the $39 18 Housing Strategy Green Paper

23 million Mariner development at Victoria Docklands, which provides 85 affordable rental housing units for key workers together with 28 open-market apartments (HCA, 2010).» Bridge Housing, Affordable Community Housing, Hume Community Housing and Community Housing Limited, NSW. In December 2010 the NSW Government issued a tender for community housing organisations to compete for state government support of NRAS applications to re-generate four public housing estates in western Sydney. The 450 NRAS incentives allocated to community housing groups would help towards financing estate re-development, moving to mixed tenure accommodation housing families of varying income levels. The four successful community housing groups will play a role in property development, in partnership with Housing NSW and private developers, and be responsible for long term property ownership, tenancy management and coordinating community investment. Through using an open tender, the NSW Government was able to ensure best value, and encouraged innovation by bidders. Harnessing NRAS incentives and encouraging community housing providers to raise bank loans brought additional funding that would not be available if Housing NSW carried out the project (Housing NSW, 2010).» Horizon Housing Company, Queensland. Horizon, formerly known as Gold Coast Housing, has secured Commonwealth funding under the Housing Affordability Fund (HAF). HAF funds are being used to reduce development cost for new housing, with the $10,000 financial benefit per property passed on to eligible low to moderate income home purchasers at Coomera. As shown in example 4, HAF funding has also been used by Unity Housing in South Australia to deliver a sustainable greenfield development project.» Mission Australia Housing, NSW. The Common Ground Camperdown project, located in inner-city Sydney, follows a model successfully delivered in New York to provide permanent housing for previously homeless people, as well as delivering on-site support services that helps get them back on their feet. Coordinated by community housing provider Mission Australia Housing, the recently opened project has delivered 104 self-contained studios, one and two bedroom apartments as well as space for on-site support services. Grocon Construction are the developers, and as part of their philanthropic strategy delivered the project at lower than market cost (Gilmour & Wheadon, 2010). These examples show how sophisticated Australian community housing organisations, including those in South Australia, are playing an important new role in using new forms of finance to help fund affordable housing. The more external dollars of funding that are received, from the private sector or from the Commonwealth, the greater the leveraging potential of state government grants. For community housing providers to fully exploit these fundraising opportunities, they need to operate at arms length from state agencies and have control over their assets and cashflows. Community housing provider submission 19

24 South Australian Example 4 Unity Housing Company: Using HAF funds to deliver sustainable communities St Clair at Woodville is a $7.5 million master planned Transit Orientated Development (TOD) scheme eight kilometres from central Adelaide. The project has produced 25 new homes to be held long term for affordable rental. St Clair showcases a partnership with the developer AV Jennings, harnessing local government secured Commonwealth HAF funding to reduce development costs. The financial benefit is reflected in a reduced purchase price of up to $85,000 per property to facilitate ongoing affordable rental and home purchase options to a range of very low to moderate income earners. Unity Housing s model has enabled the developer to meet their 30% affordability requirement in the development which otherwise could not have been met due to the high land cost in this inner metro location. It has also enabled 25 households to live in this otherwise unaffordable development close to public transport, parklands, shopping and recreational services. These households receive a subsidised rent of either 74.9% of market rent or 25% of household income depending on their income. This has allowed low income families, the aged and people on disability pensions to live in this blue chip location. Unity Housing have combined various forms of funding at St Clair, including from the Commonwealth (Social Housing National Partnership and NRAS), State Government AIF funds, the Wyatt Benevolent Institution, HomeStart Finance and Commonwealth HAF funds accessed in partnership with the City of Charles Sturt. 20 Housing Strategy Green Paper

25 3.5 Building strong communities Although community housing s core business of providing affordable rental accommodation reduces social exclusion, many organisations go further. Following the housing plus approach popular in both Britain and the US, many organisations work in close association with other not-for-profits and government agencies to assist tenants to seek work, build skills and stabilise their family situation. British research positions housing associations as community anchors in the neighbourhoods in which they operate. Though housing providers cannot provide all the answers, they are often best placed to bring together the services of a number of different agencies (Wadhams, 2006). For the community housing provider, it often also makes business sense by protecting assets, cutting rent arrears, lowering the tenant turnover rate and reducing anti-social behaviour. There are a number of interesting models and approaches developing in Australia:» Bridge Housing, NSW. Bridge housing s 2009 Tenant Survey identified the low level of computer ownership and internet access among tenants as a factor limiting community inclusion and access to jobs. The Bridging the Digital Divide project, delivered in partnership with WorkVentures, and part-funded by the Trust Company Philanthropic Services, supplies recycled computer and software packages to low income households. WorkVentures is a not-for-profit social enterprise focused on community and economic development. Bridging the Digital Divide received awards from the Australasian Housing Institute and the NSW Federation of Housing Associations(Bridge Housing, 2010).» Foundation Housing, Western Australia. Foundation, Western Australia s largest community housing provider, are major participants in the Street to Home Program funded under the Commonwealth s National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness and managed by the State Government s Department for Child Protection. Various agencies, including Foundation, form a syndicate of services to target rough sleepers and offer seamless support even though they may be serviced by different organisations at different times. Foundation has been funded for 3 welfare support staff positions to support 60 rough sleepers transition into long term secure housing (Foundation Housing, 2010).» Unity Housing, South Australia. Established by South Australia s largest community housing provider in 2009, Community Connect is a scheme to help sustain tenancies for Adelaide residents who are vulnerable and marginalised due to a history of homelessness or living with a disability. The scheme is a partnership with the South Australian Government, Adelaide City Council and a variety of local not-for-profit service providers. Community Connect seeks to facilitate access to local community life including mainstream arts, recreational and cultural activities that build self-esteem for tenants and remove some of the stigma associated with being labelled a homeless person. Although established as a pilot, the scheme is showing signs of becoming self-sustaining as participants take a lead role in managing and coordinating events and activities (Unity Housing, 2011). Community housing provider submission 21

26 » Junction Housing, South Australia, provide a Neighbourhood House and organised activities in Seaford Meadows. In partnership with the Seaford Meadows project developer, the Fairmont Group, the neighbourhood house was built to provide a venue for Southern Junction Community Services to run community groups and activities aimed at building social cohesion in the new greenfield property development. Junction Housing has also developed more than 30 new homes in the surrounding suburb of Seaford Meadows, and the neighbourhood house was an important tool to assist with integrating tenants into the local community. Staff at the site offer a range of services and activities including connection to support services, play groups, coffee mornings, and meet your neighbour barbecues. The Neighbourhood House provides a safe place for local people to meet, learn and play and is funded by Southern Junction with the support of Fairmont Group.» Anglicare SA, South Australia, is a leader in the establishment of Enterprise Services, through its Westworks operations based at Elizabeth West. Providing multiple employment pathways and Volunteering opportunities, Westworks assists long-term unemployed individuals enter the workforce and re-connect with the community. A range of community development projects are also undertaken through a Community Development Officer, such as community garden projects, tenant education sessions, and cultural awareness events. Community housing organisations have a proven ability to act as community anchors, bringing together complex service support arrangements involving state agencies, private donors and not-for-profit welfare groups. This is not the type of role that can be easily fulfilled by other organisations. Community housing providers are highly innovative, developing new forms of social enterprise and helping build social inclusion in often troubled neighbourhoods. 3.6 Section conclusions There are numerous examples of how contemporary, well-resourced and professionally managed community housing providers can achieve great outcomes. They are able to access a wider range of finance sources, act faster, be more innovative and form deeper partnerships than is possible for state agencies or private firms. With a clear social purpose, over the last decade community housing organisations have become respected partners with government agencies and the private sector in delivering housing policy. However, for state government to gain maximum benefits, community housing providers need to be able to act at arms length from state government and have greater freedom over their strategy, funding and assets. Examples of best practice can be found overseas, though there are plenty of examples in Australia. In South Australia there are already a number of growth community housing organisations, including Unity Housing which is one of Australia s top dozen not-for-profit housing providers. With modest modifications to State Government policy, South Australian community housing providers could increase the production of new affordable housing to rates seen in other states. 22 Housing Strategy Green Paper

27 4 Helping Achieve the Housing Strategy s Vision The Green Paper provides a clear direction for future housing policy in South Australia. Anglicare SA, Junction Housing and Unity Housing Company support all of the main directions. The community housing sector can play a large role in helping achieve Government s vision, though this will only be possible if there is a change to current policy settings. Not-for-profit housing providers need to be able to operate more independently of government, grow in scale, and have greater control over their cashflows and assets. The Green Paper proposes five policy directions for the Housing Strategy. This submission shows how the more dynamic South Australian community housing provides can assist achieve outcomes in four of the directions. Direction 4, covering improving housing outcomes for Aboriginal South Australians, is not included in this submission as it is considered best achieved through the work of Aboriginal community housing providers. The three not-for-profit housing organisations who prepared this submission all carry out a significant amount of work with Aboriginal people, and stand ready to continue to support the development of high quality services in this area. 4.1 Creating sustainable neighbourhoods (direction 1) As described earlier in this submission, community housing providers act as community anchors, building partnerships that help sustain neighbourhoods. The sector is locally responsive and locally managed, delivering high quality services from a web of neighbourhood offices. Community housing organisations can develop specific solutions for particular locations more effectively than state-wide public sector agencies. Therefore the sector should be at the heart of the new Housing Policy. Green paper feedback and recommendations:» Community housing providers are well place to partner with government agencies on demonstration projects featuring high quality building design, and incorporating universal design to help accommodate older people and people with disabilities. The three organisations submitting this paper all have development experience, though in contrast to private sector developers have greater knowledge of the requirements of high-needs groups. Design innovation has in other jurisdictions has often been led by community housing organisations a good example being Brisbane Housing Company s work on accessible design. Community housing provider submission 23

28 South Australian Example 5 Junction Housing: Delivering sustainable, mixed tenure communities Anniversary Apartments, developed by Junction Housing, is a $3.87 million development of 21 medium density dwellings for affordable rental. Located at Christies Downs, the first apartments were completed in May Designed to 6 star energy efficiency standards, and with access to recycled water through a partnership with the City of Onkaparinga, the development aims to address social and environmental sustainability and long term affordability for all tenants. The site is located close to the Noarlunga Centre, providing easy access to amenities like schools, child-care centres and medical clinics, and major transport routes. Reinforcing the success of Junction Housing s approach, Operations Manager of the Fairmont Group, Brenton Allen, commented our planning and design department, along with Junction Housing, took a very proactive stance with the local council, and thoroughly prepared and presented our vision for the development. It was enthusiastically received, and now there are twenty one beautifully designed 3-bedroom townhouses and 2-bedroom studio apartments ready for people who need a home. It s a fantastic outcome. The dwellings are tenanted by a mixture of very low, low and moderate income households who have the opportunity to meet and socialise in a large common garden area. The different income groups have been salt and peppered across the site, and there is a mixture of two and three bedroom dwellings allocated for each income group. There is no discernible difference in the quality or amenity of the housing product offered to any income group. Projects like the Anniversary Apartments are vital to create desirable, affordable and sustainable housing for a mix of households, so that they have a sense of place and inclusion within an existing community and avoid clustering of tenure groups. 24 Housing Strategy Green Paper

29 » To deliver the Green Paper s vision on place making, greater use needs to be made of community housing providers who are grounded in local neighbourhoods. Even where a private developer takes the lead, including a community housing provider as partner allows greater networking with local human service not-for-profit providers. A good example is the work of Junction Housing in the Anniversary Apartments project, shown in example 5.» The community housing sector s pioneering work with establishing social enterprises will help deliver more sustainable neighbourhoods. Anglicare SA and Junction Housing, for example, already encourage and support social enterprises in tandem with affordable housing development.» Community housing providers should play a key part in delivering the State Government s 15% affordable housing targets. Anglicare SA, Junction Housing and Unity Housing Company have all worked with private sector developers to assist them to deliver high quality affordable housing as part of their 15% targets.» More emphasis should be given on community housing providers delivering the 5% high needs housing in South Australia s inclusionary zoning schemes, rather than Housing SA. Using the community housing model, without a debenture, allows surpluses to be used to generate even more affordable housing. Community housing providers can harvest CRA subsidies and private finance, unlike public agencies.» Community housing providers across Australia take the lead in delivering alternative dwelling forms such as new generation boarding houses with en-suite bathrooms, shared houses, granny flats, self-build properties and community land trusts. The experiences already gained by housing providers in Victoria, NSW and Queensland can be brought to South Australia with little risk as they are now proven models. 4.2 Building housing industry capacity (direction 2) Section 2 of this report notes in detail how South Australia s housing policy settings have restricted the growth of larger community housing providers. Over time, the state will need to come more in line with other jurisdictions if maximum benefit is to be gained from Commonwealth funding (CRA and NRAS), and opportunities provided to boost housing supply through bank borrowing. With a limited number of commercially sophisticated South Australian community housing providers operating at scale, State Government will be able to allocate development funding through contested public tenders. This will increase the efficiency of housing production, encourage innovation, and allow greater transparency in allocating scarce funds for new affordable housing. Green paper feedback and recommendations:» Interim changes to the state regulation of community housing providers may be needed before the move to national regulation in The existing regulatory structure could start to operate more at arms -length from government, and separate to funding decisions. This will provide the infrastructure for the South Australian Regulator which will need to be established under the currently proposed model of national regulation.» The debenture arrangement for community housing assets needs to be relaxed for certain housing portfolios held by a number of the preferred growth providers. Prior to releasing the debenture on properties, community housing providers should demonstrate the robustness of the financial models, and their capacity to leverage their asset portfolios to deliver additional affordable housing. Community housing provider submission 25

30 » For properties freed from the debenture restriction, community housing organisations should be able to determine their allocations and rent setting policies. Again, this would be subject to pre-agreed targets for building new affordable housing.» The capital contribution on debentured properties should be ended for preferred growth providers to allow them to operate more independently, raise debt, and be encouraged to operate more efficiently.» The South Australian Government needs to review how the community housing sector will expand in the future, and establish the respective roles and responsibilities of public agencies, peak bodies and the housing providers themselves. Modest funding will be required, though the key role for government is strategic steering of the sector rather than micromanagement. An example capacity building strategy was prepared last year for NSW (Urban Research Centre, 2010).» Selected sophisticated South Australian community housing organisations could act as the lead on re-development partnering arrangements. This has been proven to work in other Australian jurisdictions, and overseas. Community housing groups are well placed to work on cross-sectoral partnerships between the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. Such partnership opportunities do not need to be restricted to public housing renewal. For example, Melbourne Affordable Housing (now Housing Choices Australia) played an important role in partnership in Melbourne Docklands to a new deliver mixed income community that incorporate key-worker housing.» Although the allocation of NRAS incentives to South Australia has been disappointing, there remain opportunities to maximise the delivery of affordable housing using this subsidy. In other jurisdictions private sector developers have found it challenging to deliver new housing and meet FaHCSIA s delivery deadlines. State agencies could work in partnership with FaHCSIA to help re-direct unused NRAS incentives to South Australian community housing organisations with a proven track record of new housing delivery.» The South Australian community housing sector should be set specific goals for raising private finance to invest in affordable housing as already happens in NSW and Victoria. For this to happen, reform of the debenture system and capital contribution mechanism is needed. 4.3 Facilitating high needs housing opportunities (direction 3) Community housing providers are already highly experienced in delivering excellent services for high needs groups, and in offering a wider range of accommodation options from homelessness shelters to boarding houses and family homes. Given the size and local connectedness of housing providers, they are able to work in close partnership with both public and not-for-profit welfare and human service agencies. All organisations submitting this report already have the ability within their existing program structure to provide a variety of services for tenants with high and special needs. For example, Unity Housing accommodate over 1,000 high need tenants and has over 40 Memoranda of 26 Housing Strategy Green Paper

31 South Australian Example 5 Anglicare SA: Partnership working to support disadvantaged communities Anglicare SA manages several clusters of social housing properties in some highly disadvantaged pockets of Adelaide s Northern Suburbs. These are tenanted entirely by people dependent on welfare, most of who are elderly or have complex needs. Increasing social isolation and tenancy problems were being experienced by these residents. Anglicare SA has employed a part-time Community Development Worker to create a sense of community among these tenant groups, by creating connections between the residents, and establishing relevant support pathways. A number of strategies have been used, in partnership with various corporate and volunteer organisations, resulting in positive outcomes for the residents, and a lower incidence of tenancyrelated problems. The Community Development Worker visits every tenant individually, to create a personal relationship. A regular tenant newsletter called The Buzz is produced with tenant input, to link residents with each other and to provide news, helpful information and community contacts. Regular social and information sessions are conducted, with speakers from organisations such as the Police, Neighbourhood Watch or Housing SA. These always finish with a morning tea or a sausage sizzle. Anglicare SA has also started a Community Garden project, where residents are supported to create small low-maintenance common garden areas. This has been achieved with the help of Volunteers from Westpac Bank, native plants donated by Bunnings, and practical assistance from the City of Playford gardening services. The end results of these initiatives are a much more sustainable and better connected tenant community, improved living spaces, and happier and more secure residents. Community housing provider submission 27