Infrastructure companies are helping to move the dial on Australia’s housing supply challenges by factoring community housing into major developments.
This is not only the big players. It includes up-and-coming developers who recognise the importance they play in investing in community relationships.
McCullough Robertson Lawyers Planning and Environment Partner, and Community Housing Co-Lead, Kara Mezinec said several large developments had seamlessly integrated this type of housing into their plans.
This had the dual benefit of lifting the housing stock generally and, importantly, providing quality housing to low-income families and people with special needs.
“Everyone tries to do what they can, but the (housing) problem is so big that it really needs a much more cohesive and collaborative approach to find solutions,” Ms Mezinec said.
“It is great to see developers using their social licence to create these types of developments because that’s the only way we will address the problem. We just won’t solve the housing crisis with piecemeal, small-scale projects – we need solutions that match the scale of the problem.
“Community housing organisations can’t be expected to deliver these types of developments on their own. They just don’t have the resources or the capacity to be able to do them at that scale.”
Community housing is not-for-profit housing that is owned or managed by community organisations. It is designed to provide affordable, secure, and appropriate rental housing for people on low to moderate incomes or with special needs.
McCullough Robertson Community Housing works extensively with the community housing sector in Queensland and New South Wales.
It partners with a diverse range of for-purpose organisations and sector leaders as part of a commitment to help address the national housing crisis.
Ms Mezinec said, when community housing was provided in new large-scale developments, the beneficiaries were “genuinely excited and even surprised” that they were being provided with accommodation of the same standard as the rest of the development.
This was important because everyone deserved access to quality housing, regardless of income.
“It makes a big difference if this work is done in partnership with the bigger stakeholders who have the capacity to build these large-scale developments,” Ms Mezinec said.
Creating community housing this way also helped to address the NIMBY (not in my backyard) sentiment in some neighbourhoods.
Ms Mezinec said, given the slow pace and red tape involved with new developments, there was a need to look at buildings that could be repurposed for community housing.
“I don’t think there is a lot of repurposing happening and that is part of the problem,” she said.
“There is a lot of stock that can’t be used just sitting there, but it is not really suitable in its current state. It needs work to bring it up to scratch.”
Location was also a consideration.
Recipients of community housing were typically on low income and needed to be close to public transport and amenities.
“It really doesn’t work otherwise,” Ms Mezinec said. “In reality, community housing needs to be close to the cities because that is where the transport and amenities are and it provides a wider range of employment opportunities. Long commutes are expensive and time consuming and disproportionally affect people on low incomes.”
McCullough Robertson’s work with community housing organisations spans property, planning, corporate (including charities), taxation, construction, finance, employment and safety, insurance, and intellectual property, with a large portion of matters undertaken on a pro bono basis.
Where possible, the firm provides pro bono support from the inception of a project, helping community housing organisations secure approvals, establish appropriate structures, and streamline funding.
By targeting assistance at this early stage, before funding approval, the team helps reduce project risk at a critical time, overcome hurdles, and enable the delivery of much-needed housing services to the community.
Ms Mezinec said she was proud to be part of a firm that was so passionate about wanting to make a difference in this space.
