Category Archives: News

Sydney-based community housing provider Bridge Housing took out a gold award at the 2017 Australasian Reporting Awards for its 2016 annual report.

It was Bridge’s fourth consecutive gold award and fifth overall.

The Annual Report Awards are aimed at improving the communication of business information and the standards of financial reporting and are designed to enable organisation to benchmark the quality of their annual reports against world best practice.

Bridge was competing against entries from New Zealand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, India and Russia.

Bridge CEO John Nicolades says, ‘The recognition we receive through these awards is warmly welcomed and further motivates our Board, management team and staff to strive for best practice governance, communication with our stakeholders and financial reporting in the year ahead.

‘Bridge Housing takes pride in being an organisation that always works to high governance standards and transparency. Congratulations to the other winners for their hard work and achievement.’

You can view Bridge’s annual report here.

Entries for the 2018 ARA will open on September 1.

05/07/2017

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CHFV Board member and Swinburne University academic Terry Burke has put up a spirited argument in support of community housing as a sound platform for fair social housing in an article featured in The Conversation this morning.

CHFV mobilised its response in The Conversation to tackle recent criticisms made in the online publication, and other media, around the transfer of public housing to community housing as the government ‘wriggling out’ of its responsibilities.

Prof Burke clearly states the case for community housing providers playing a key role in public housing renewal programs.

‘The (not-for-profit) sector can grasp the opportunities offered by policy reform in a way the public sector cannot, and provide sustained affordability and security,’ Prof Burke argues.

Click here to read the full article.

05/07/2017

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Bond aggregator Budget Federal National Affordable Housing Agreement National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation News No Comments

Don’t miss your opportunity to hear about major issues impacting our sector, directly from those in the hot seat.

Book your seats now to hear from Assistant Minister to the Treasurer, the Hon Michael Sukkar, about the Federal Government’s housing initiatives such as the bond aggregator, and Productivity Commissioner Stephen King, who is presiding over the current investigation into ways to improve the delivery of Human Services – including affordable housing.

Productivity Commission update

05/07/2017

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Federal News Productivity Commission No Comments

CHIA and the state and territory peaks are compiling the sector’s response to the Productivity Commission’s draft report Introducing Competition and Informed User Choice In Human Services.

The report, which includes housing, is looking at innovative ways to improve outcomes through introducing the principles of competition and informed user choice whilst maintaining or improving quality of service.

It is expected CHIA Chair Michael Lennon, CHIA CEO Peta Winzar, and NSW Federation of Community Housing’s CEO Wendy Hayhurst will make a presentation to the commission’s public hearing in Canberra on Tuesday, July 25.

The sector response will be made available to CHIA members.

21/06/2017

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News Victoria No Comments

Melbourne’s The Age newspaper has today published an opinion piece by CHFV Executive Officer Lesley Dredge that calls for a creative approach to the Victorian Government’s public housing renewal program.

The article reinforces the urgent need to revitalise ageing public housing estates and demonstrates the ability of not-for-profit community housing providers to deliver vibrant, mixed-use precincts that provide tenants with the dignity that comes from having secure, affordable and appropriate housing to call home.

Click here to read the full article.

Tasmania sets its budget

24/05/2017

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Budget News Tasmania No Comments

Shelter Tas welcomes the State Government’s commitment of $62m over the next 2 years in its Budget 2017-18. While this creates a solid base for implementing Affordable Housing Strategy, without additional investment in social housing, Tasmania will continue to fall well behind meeting demand for affordable housing. We are disappointed that the $60m Stamp Duty windfall created by the current housing boom has not been re-invested into social housing to alleviate the growing rental crisis that is squeezing low income households out of the housing market.

The key features of this year’s Budget that we particularly welcome are:

$15m for further implementation of Tasmania’s Affordable Housing Strategy
The major projects announced, including the completion of the Devonport Youth Supported Accommodation Facility, the relocation and expansion of the Hobart Women’s Shelter, additional units for young people at Thyne House in Launceston and Moonah
$12m for social housing units in major urban centres
The establishment of the Affordable Housing Working Group to investigate government land potentially available for increased housing supply. As a participant in this Working Group, Shelter Tas will be seeking an increase in the supply of social housing along with more innovative approaches in the planning system
$6m funding for a HomeShare program to assist low-income Tasmanians purchase their own home and the continuation of the First Home Builder’s Grant and reduced Stamp Duty on new house and land packages.

Shelter Tas urges the Tasmanian Government to negotiate away the State’s public housing debt as part of the new national housing agreement that was announced recently in the Federal Budget. Tasmania can no longer afford to return half the State’s annual funding allocation, almost $16m each year, back to the Federal Government.

Click here for further information on housing and homelessness initiatives in the Tasmanian Budget 2017-18, read the Shelter Tas media release here or ABC article ‘Tasmanian budget report card: Generally good results, but some room for improvement’ here.

Reprinted with thanks to Shelter Tasmania’s eNews

CHFV becomes CHIA Vic

12/02/2017

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Federal News Victoria No Comments

CHFV’s board and members have continued to demonstrate their strong support of the Community Housing Industry Association (CHIA) by agreeing to adopt the trading name CHIA Vic in the new financial year.

The ‘trading as’ name change is part of CHFV’s compact with CHIA, which will it act as the Victorian state branch of the national organisation, whilst retaining its own legal entity. The move is a natural progression of CHFV’s strong support of CHIA, which dates back to 2015.

CHFV will launch a new website and branding in light of the name change.

CHIA expects to successfully complete negotiations with the other state peaks by the end of June this year, which will clarify how the organisations will work together to advance the community housing industry.

Bridge wins gold for annual report