CHIA membership approaches 100

CHIA membership is on track to reach triple figures this financial year for the first time since its inception.

Membership has been growing steadily. We currently have 98 full community housing provider members located in every state and territory. Our members own or manage over 46,000 dwellings across Australia from the Pilbara and Kimberly in the west to Coffs Harbour and Brisbane on the east coast and from Darwin down to Hobart.

These members include seven large multi-state providers, small community based CHPs and specialist providers of housing for people with disability, women, the elderly and people exiting from primary homelessness.

On the eve of its second Annual General Meeting, CHIA is still in its formative stages with board and staff working hard to realise the organisation’s potential. However, member enrollment and retention is the clearest indicator that the community housing sector wants a strong national industry body advocating on its behalf. We are moving in the right direction.

Michael Lennon, CHIA Chairperson.

News round up

Scott Morrison opens housing affordability debate, but can he control it?

The Greater Sydney Commission could deliver a step-change policy advance on affordable housing

Time for Meaningful reforms on Housing Affordability

Scott Morrison deliberately obfuscates on Housing Affordability

CHIA WA calls for 'Systemic Reform for Better Outcomes'

CHIA Western Australia has published its pre-State election policy platform in advance of the March 2017 poll.

CHIA makes five key policy recommendations in the document including a call for the development of a comprehensive community housing growth strategy and substantial revisions to that State's Social Housing Investment Program (SHIP) The full document can be downloaded here.

AHURI - Inquiry into property transfer methodologies panel meeting

An important question facing the community housing sector and government at the moment is how property transfer arrangements should be optimally designed to get the best outcomes for all parties. CHIA joined the Inquiry Panel which met last month on this AHURI project (funded by Power Housing) to consider the key design features of effective property transfers. A team of legal and economics experts from RMIT on legal arrangements, different valuation methodologies, how to assess the condition of public housing assets on transfer, the optimal asset maintenance arrangements, and the economic and property risks involved with property transfer. The report is expected in the first half of 2017.

It’s Annual General Meeting season

CHIA will hold its Annual General Meeting on 28 November in Melbourne at the Marriott Hotel. The business of the meeting will be followed by a presentation from the James Waddell, Director Corporate and Institutional Banking at the National Australia Bank on how a financial bond aggregator model could apply to community housing. Those intending to come along should RSVP their acceptances to Shelly Forceville at info@communityhousing.com.au by 21^st November 2016.

The Directors of Rural Housing Network are having their AGM in Wangaratta on 18 November. The Victorian Community Housing Federation of Victoria is having its AGM on 16 November followed by a presentation from the Department on Victoria’s new Housing Act and a presentation from Professor Terry Burke on his estimation of future demand for social housing in Victoria.The NSW Federation of Housing Association' Annual General Meeting will be held on Thursday 17th December 2015 with the venue to be confirmed.

Productivity Commission inquiry into human services

Community housing peaks and Power Housing have made a second submission to the productivity commission’s inquiry into human services, of which competition and choice in social and affordable housing is a key focus. You can find the link to the second submission here.
Our key recommendations in our second submission are to:

Move to a uniform, national and updated regulatory approach and contestable funding for all social housing providers, whether in the public, not-for-profit or private sectors;
Promote user choice through better information, choice-based lettings and personal housing plans;
Better tendering arrangements to minimise costs to providers and maximise outcomes for tenants;

Broaden stakeholder involvement to include tenants in the PC inquiry’s next stage of work.

The Productivity Commission expects to publish a report later this month and complete the second stage of its inquiry by October 2017.