Quick links

• The Victorian Government’s Housing Policy Directions and Funding
• The Federal Government’s Housing Policy Directions and Funding
• Registered Housing Providers
• Partnering for Growth - some case examples
• Opportunities for Partnerships - community & private
• Businesses offering or seeking services within the community housing sector
• CHOs seeking or offering to private developers and other interested parties for NRAS
• NRAS Financial Modelling Tool
• CHO seeking or offering to other CHOs
• Consultant Contact List

The Partnerships, Policy & Projects Officer, Andrea Sharam will take inquiries about this page.

andrea.sharam@chfv.org.au or 9654 6077

Funding Opportunities for Community Housing

The Victorian Government’s Housing Policy Directions and Funding

The Victorian Government has, for a number of years, been growing the community housing sector through the development of regulatory infrastructure and the provision of capital funding. The Government has nominated community housing as its preferred vehicle for the development of new social housing stock and, increasingly, the redevelopment of its public housing portfolio. In part, this strategic direction has been driven by the community housing sector’s capacity to deliver gearing (in addition to the funding received) and to capture Commonwealth Rental Assistance (CRA), which supports a viable rental income stream.

The Victorian Government has: 

• Required all agencies receiving funds or managing its stock to become registered and regulated either as providers or associations (growth vehicles);
• Provided capital funding of more than $390m in the last three years;
• Predominantly allocated these growth funds to housing associations;
•  Required private developers to partner with housing organisations when bidding for public housing estate redevelopment;
• Transferred the ownership of community-managed stock to housing associations;
• Promoted a competition-based model for allocation of funds, with significant emphasis on delivering 25% gearing on the projects;
• Targeted the stock developed by housing associations to low wage workers; and
• Required all agencies managing OoH stock to maximise CRA.

The Federal Government’s Housing Policy Directions and Funding

The Federal Housing Minister has articulated a housing reform agenda linked to the provision of funds under both National Affordable Housing Agreement (NAHA) and Federal Stimulus Package. The reforms to social housing will focus on a number of key objectives, such as to:

• Support a small number of community housing organisations to grow to a scale and competence where they can provide contestability within social housing, particularly against public housing provision;
• Implement a national independent prudential supervision for social housing providers (both public and community housing) to include national regulation and registration;
• Renegotiate how Commonwealth funds social housing to States, to provide an incentive for States to increase and improve their stock;
• Deliver better stock to meet the current and future needs of tenants by better matching homes and households and linkages to required services and supports; and 
• Provide tenants with a choice of provider via a single access gateway. 

As well negotiating a new broader Commonwealth/State housing funding agreement (NAHA) to replace the previous (Commonwealth State Housing Agreement – CSHA), the Federal Government has committed to a number of funding initiatives including:

National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS) – a 10-year private rental subsidy scheme targeted to construct 50,000 new houses by 2012 (of which Victoria could typically expect to secure on a per capita basis 12,500 units). The subsidy is in the form of an indexed annual tax credit or, for charities, a payment. As a shallow subsidy scheme, this has received some support from both the Victorian Government and institutional investors. However this is also a key opportunity for the not-for-profit sector, and Victorian Housing Associations were approved for around half of the NRAS incentives offered in Rounds 1 & 2 in Victoria. 

CHFV in partnership with the Housing Industry Association and the Office of Housing conducted a series of five workshops around Victoria coinciding with Round 2 of NRAS (Jan-Feb 2009), with Clive Attwater from SGS Economics and Planning engaged to provide an expert analysis/presentation on NRAS and free one-to-one consultations.  All workshops were well attended, with representatives from state government, community housing organisations, local government, community support agencies, finance companies, builders, developers and investors.

Click here for Office of Housing information regarding NRAS

Click here for Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs information regarding NRAS

National Rental Affordability Scheme Financial Modelling Tool

FaHCSIA contracted Ernst and Young to develop a financial modelling tool to demonstrate the financial returns that may be available through investing in residential property supported by the National Rental Affordability Scheme and to promote a better understanding of how the scheme operates. Downloading the model is free of charge. You are encouraged to seek your own independent financial advice when deciding whether to invest in residential property supported by the National Rental Affordability Scheme. If you have queries relating to the model, please call the Australian Government’s National Rental Affordability Scheme hotline on 1800 334 505        

Federal Stimulus Package – this has provided approximately $1.5b for social housing in Victoria and is currently anticipated to fund in excess of 7,000 housing units, with half of the funding allocated to the community housing sector. As the Victorian community housing sector is structured to lever growth it is anticipated it shall deliver more than half of the houses,  that is more then 3.750 units. Of those owned by the Director of Housing (DoH), a proportion is expected to be managed by the community housing sector and potentially transferred to community ownership. 

The extent of the growth in this sector can be illustrated by a comparison with the growth achieved in the decade from 1996/07 to 2006/07. While the number of units under management is projected to grow from 8,000 units in 1996/96 to more than 27,000 in 2011-12, it is the growth in ownership and the associated required development capacity that is the most striking feature. In this area, the number of units owned by community housing agencies is anticipated to grow from 2,000 units in 1996/07 to more than 16,000 units by 2012 (with an associated asset value of more than $3.5b).

Registered Housing Providers

The Housing Registrar provides a list of currently registered associations and providers.

Before making contact CHFV recommends reading:

Putting it Together - A Partnership Kit for Community Housing Providers and Potential Partners to Develop Affordable Housing Community Housing Federation of Australia 2005 

This kit is aimed at understanding what makes a good partnership between a  community housing organisation  and private developer, or other partner.

The following are CHFV members who are currently registered.

Housing Providers

Aboriginal Housing Victoria

Active Property Services Management Ltd

Barwon Youth

Centacare

Eastcoast Housing Association

EACH Housing (subsidiary of EACH)

Eastern Suburbs Rental Housing Cooperative

Hanover Welfare Services

HomeGround Services

Inner East Rooming House Group

Northern Geelong Rental Housing Co-operative

Northcote Rental Housing Co-operative Ltd

North East Housing Service Ltd

Prahran/Malvern Community Housing Inc.

Salvation Army Red Shield Housing Vic

Servants in Hawthorn Inc

SouthEast Housing Co-operative Ltd

South Port Community Housing Group Inc

Social Housing Victoria (subsidiary of YWCA Victoria)

St Kilda Community Housing

St Vincent de Paul Community Housing

Sunshine/St Albans Rental Housing Co-operative Ltd

United Housing Co-operative Ltd

Urban Communities Limited 

Victorian Women's Housing Association Ltd

WAYSS Ltd

Women's Housing Ltd
West Turk Housing and Elderly Services Co-operative

Williamstown Rental Housing Co-operative Ltd 

Housing Associations

Common Equity Housing Ltd

Community Housing (Vic) Ltd

Loddon Mallee Housing Services Ltd

Melbourne Affordable Housing

Port Phillip Housing Association Ltd

Rural Housing Network Ltd

Supported Housing Ltd

Yarra Community Housing Ltd

Wintringham Housing Ltd

Partnering for Growth - some case examples

The increases in funding from the Commonwealth and Victorian governments has seen the community housing sector embrace change in order to bring new community housing stock on line and to provide the highest quality service to tenants.  This has meant that some organisations have reviewed organisational structure, size and mission in order to prepare themselves for the level of investment and the changing nature of relationships in the provision of community housing.

Whilst the Housing Associations have traditionally been orientated to growth and remain the primary vehicle for capital investment by government, enormous opportunity exists for community housing providers to grow. It is envisaged that providers will be able to growth their housing stock through partnerships with housing associations as is the case in the UK.  Alternatively, NRAS provides incentives to the private sector to partner with community housing organisations (the most obvious arrangements would be for tenant and/or property management). An NRAS partnership would provide a new income stream to providers who could then invest this profit into new housing. Providers would then be looking for a partner to assist with the development process and/or construction - they may even see advantage in some additional capital for their project  - a partnership with a Housing Association may be the solution. It is highly likely that housing providers will have the relationships on the ground with community/local government/private partners who may want to invest. As such providers will be instrumental in identifying new sites and opportunities  and will be a big part of the action.

Other opportunities are also mooted. The Rudd Government's homelessness plan, 'The Road Home' envisages joined up service provision that suggests housing organisations partner with employment agencies for example.

Going for It! North East Housing Service

NEHS is a transitional housing manager who sees immense opportunity in the stimulus package and in NRAS, and has actively  pursued partnership arrangements with private developers. NEHS has several projects they are involved in ranging from private ownership/NEHS tenancy manager to NEHS as an equity contributor. This equity then provides the opportunity to leverage

through borrowings to purchase further housing.

Tony Clarke, NEHS Manager of Tenancy, Property and Property Development said that the 'key is to form working relationships. How this happens is one of persistence, effort and a degree of luck.' 

The move by NEHS in this direction was driven by a strategic vision to diversify their income source (currently wholly dependent on government) and to grow their own stock and generally increase the amount of affordable, quality housing in the region. In addition, NEHS felt that these projects will give tenants options for choosing their landlord.

This later ambition has far reaching consequences. It recognises that there are barriers beyond income in the private rental market. Some social groups experience very considerable levels of discrimination. Not only does having a community housing organisation managing private rental mean that access to private rental housing is provided, but it also allows that tenant to gain a private rental history. Over time it will also work to breakdown stereotypes that real estate agents and private landlords appear to hold.

Focusing on core business a success for tenants - Wombat Housing & Support Service and Women’s Housing Ltd

When the Victorian government introduced the new Housing Provider Framework (HPF), Wombat Housing & Support Services (WHSS) thought hard about taking on the extra burden of regulatory compliance for a relatively small number of properties. It prompted them to consider what their core business was. They decided to focus on their core expertise – support.  Discussions with Women’s Housing Ltd (WHL) resulted in an understanding they did not have to register – they could have an organisation who would in any case be undertaking registration perform the associated housing functions for them.

WHSS and WHL entered into a partnership that involved the transfer of the Office of Housing (OOH) properties formerly managed by WHSS to WHL. WHL undertakes property and tenancy management and contracts WHSS to deliver the community development  services through the Capacity Building Fund that forms  part of the HPF agreement with the OOH. The formal contractual agreement between the two organisations  is underpinned by a model of practice that describes the partnership and outlines the roles and responsibilities. 

The tenants  enjoy  recreational opportunities that have occurred as a result of the community development  services including fishing trips, ten pin bowling and gym membership. 

The experience  gained  in the partnership has meant that WHSS and WHL were able to successfully tender for the management of twelve OOH older person units at Meadow Heights which provides a opportunity for these residents to access  recreational and other community services.

‘From Homelessness to Sustainable Housing’ - MetroWest and Yarra Community Housing

The ambition to deliver a high quality integrated service to those with highest level of housing need – including the homelessness - was impetuous behind the eventual merger of MetroWest Housing and Yarra Community Housing. The decision by MW and YCH to create a new merged organisation was motivated and informed by the following broad objectives:

• To create a larger scale Affordable Hosing Association based in the Northern and Western region and having a particular focus on providing innovative and sustainable housing and support solutions for people experiencing housing crisis and homelessness;
• To improve outcomes for service users (clients and tenants) through the creation of more effective pathways from housing crisis and homelessness to a range of sustainable long term housing options;
• To increase organisational capacity to assist clients and tenants to gain access to support services and community resources – including access to training and employment;
• To increase organisation capacity in the areas of fund raising, research and advocacy;
• To increase organisational effectiveness in the areas of tenancy and property management through increased economies of scale;
• To increase organisational effectiveness and efficiency in the areas of organizational and financial administration through increased economies of scale;
• To improve financial performance in order to maintain affordability of rents and generate funds for both service innovation and the development of new housing.

In order to achieve this MW and YCH spent considerable time in considering the decision and then preparing the groundwork.  This involved engaging consultants at various points to undertake due diligence and to facilitate the merger.  Ultimately the MW company structure was wound up. YCH was approved as the transitional housing manager and the previous service agreement with MW was transferred to YCH.

Opportunities for Partnerships

Looking for a partner(s)

The following community housing organisations (CHO) responded to the CHFV survey to indicate their interest in partnerships with either other community housing organisations or in fee for service/joint venture arrangements for NRAS applications.

Disclaimer

The resources and contacts provided have been provided in good faith by the CHFV  However, your use of the information and professionals contained is at your sole risk.  All information within this resource is provided as is, without any warranty, whether express or implied, of its accuracy, completeness, fitness for a particular purpose, title or non-infringement, and none of the third-party products or information mentioned in the work are authored, recommended, supported or guaranteed by CHFV.

CHFV will not be liable for any damages you may sustain by using this information, whether direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential, even if it has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

The following community housing organisations (CHOs) are interested in seeking or offering the following to other CHOs

The following CHOs are interested in seeking or offering the following to private developers and other interested parties for NRAS

Consultant Contact List

Disclaimer

The resources and contacts provided have been provided in good faith by the CHFV  However, your use of the information and professionals contained is at your sole risk.  All information within this resource is provided as is, without any warranty, whether express or implied, of its accuracy, completeness, fitness for a particular purpose, title or non-infringement, and none of the third-party products or information mentioned in the work are authored, recommended, supported or guaranteed by CHFV.

CHFV will not be liable for any damages you may sustain by using this information, whether direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential, even if it has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

The following are other businesses offering or seeking services within the community housing sector

Disclaimer

The resources and contacts provided have been provided in good faith by the CHFV  However, your use of the information and professionals contained is at your sole risk.  All information within this resource is provided as is, without any warranty, whether express or implied, of its accuracy, completeness, fitness for a particular purpose, title or non-infringement, and none of the third-party products or information mentioned in the work are authored, recommended, supported or guaranteed by CHFV.

CHFV will not be liable for any damages you may sustain by using this information, whether direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential, even if it has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

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