View this email in your browser

Message from the CEO

At the time of writing, we are back in lockdown and for some strange reason they seem to get harder rather than easier. I want to acknowledge the brilliant job that those working in the sector do in rolling with all the changes as they happen and maintain their focus on keeping renters and staff safe – THANK YOU TO YOU ALL.

This week was Homelessness Week (August 1-7), and for those working in the sector, the social and human consequences of homelessness are nothing new, but I was really interested to read some new research that has revealed how building new social housing to support women fleeing family violence more than pays for itself in averted costs and economic spin-off benefits.

The ‘Nowhere To Go’ Equity Economics report, commissioned by Everybody’s Home, looks at the benefits of providing long term social housing to victims of family violence. Family violence is the leading reason women and children seek specialist homelessness services, yet alarmingly, only 3.2 per cent are receiving the long-term housing they need.

The report found that if the Commonwealth Government invested in 16,800 additional social housing units, the $7.6 billion cost would be more than offset by the resulting $15.3 billion in economic benefits, as well as create 47,000 new jobs.

It found the additional social housing would generate savings of $122.5 million in a year due to women not returning to a violent partner and $257 million in a year in savings due to women not experiencing homelessness.

It makes a compelling economic and social case for an investment that would keep tens of thousands of women and children safe. It also demonstrates the wisdom of the Victorian government’s $5.3 billion investment in social and affordable housing, and we all hope that the Federal Government follows suit.

Lesley Dredge
CEO, CHIA Vic

Securing affordable housing contributions project
CHIA Vic and MAV are building on their previous work on affordable housing agreements with a joint project to examine the various ways local government can secure and manage affordable housing contributions over time. Read about the project here.

On another related project, the template lease for developing on third party land is nearing completion and will be available in coming weeks – so keep checking the growing list of resources we have on our website.

Traumatic experiences have harmful and varied impacts on renters, who may experience stress, confusion, anxiety or present with complex inconsistent behaviours. Trauma informed tenancy management practice is grounded in an understanding of trauma and its physical, social and emotional impacts on the lives of renters.

Tickets are selling fast for our Trauma Informed Tenancy Management Practice training session, but there’s still time to book your place. This training session will provide you with a greater understanding of the impacts of trauma on renters and provide you with the skills necessary when working with people who have been impacted by trauma. Find out more.

MEMBER ONLY EVENTS

Social procurement information session two - social benefit suppliers
One week to go and guest speakers announced!
Whether you have social procurement requirements under the BHB or the Maintenance Stimulus program, or just want to ensure your future projects are best placed to, this session is for you. Social Benefit Suppliers include hundreds of Aboriginal owned businesses and social enterprises based in Victoria that are purpose built to support you in meeting your targets.

CHIA Vic has teamed up with ArcBlue, is a leading specialist procurement consultancy operating across Australia and the Asia Pacific, to deliver this one-off information session as part of our series of social procurement information sessions. Find out more and book your place.

Social Housing Regulatory Consultation
Community housing organisations have the opportunity to shape the future of community and public housing regulation by participating the Regulatory Review. Discussion Paper Two has now been released and deals with the critical area of ‘Service delivery and the tenant experience.’

CHIA Vic is holding a member consultation online on 12 August at 2pm to hear your views, which will assist us to draft a response to the paper. Find out more.

Director, Workforce Development

The community housing sector has been selected to deliver the majority of the new homes under the $5.3 billion Big Housing Build, and this is expected to grow the sector by about 40 per cent over the next five years.

It will require a workforce at the top of its game, operating at a highly strategic and systematic level. That’s where you come into it.

This newly created position has been created to establish and lead a Strategic Workforce Unit within CHIA Vic with the aim of improving workforce planning, development and training for the community housing sector. Read the position description here.

Sustainable Social Housing
Unison Housing Research Lab’s latest has released its Sustainable Housing Report, demonstrating how the creative use of administrative data can result in actionable intelligence that assists service providers and policy makers do a better job. Read the report.

Gambling and homelessness among older people
It’s Homelessness Week (August 1-7), a time when we raise awareness about homelessness, its causes, and what needs to happen now to support the most vulnerable in our communities. One area that hasn’t seen much research is the intersection between homelessness and gambling – until now.

Homelessness is accepted as one of the most severe gambling-related harms, and older people appear to be more at risk. The Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation has now released research on how gambling and homelessness are linked, the role of contributing factors, and the adequacy of current service responses. Read the report here.

Building better foundations for mental health
Impacts of COVID-19 have exacerbated the already significant gaps in the mental health system and created new challenges – how should the community housing sector adapt to ensure tenants can access support? Watch one of the most popular sessions from the CHIA Vic Big Housing Build Conference 2021.

Major Reforms in Minor Detail: Goods left Behind
Once again we are picking a single issue from the recent tenancy law reforms and discussing how the changes impacts community housing practice. One area that has raised questions from a number of organisations is how to deal with goods left behind now that Consumer Affairs Victoria no longer takes a role in inspecting abandoned goods or providing permission to dispose of them. Read on.

CHIA Vic submission on the Health and Human Services Climate Change Adaptation Action Plan 2022–2026

CHIA Vic has prepared a submission in response to the draft Health and Human Services Climate Change Adaptation Action Plan 2022–2026. Read it here.

Thanks to our sponsors