Australia continues to grapple with a housing crisis but the affordable housing sector is finally feeling the winds of change.
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The federal government is rolling out its $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund, the NSW government has just committed a record $6.6 billion to social housing, and councils are becoming more proactive in the space.
The shift has prompted a shake-up at the helm of Illawarra community housing provider the Housing Trust as the organisation prepares for the future.
Amanda Winks, the chief operating officer, is promoted to chief executive officer from Monday, July 3 while current CEO Michele Adair will become managing director.
"There is so much really good, positive change happening in the affordable housing space," Ms Adair said.
"I've been here for nearly seven years.... I spent my first probably five years trying to get people to answer my calls. All the traffic was going out from our organisation and trying to get people to pay attention, get interested and care.
"And all of a sudden, our phones are ringing hot because the housing crisis, sadly, has hit so many people so deeply now for such a sufficiently long time that there has been policy change."
In her new role, Ms Adair's focus will move to growing the Housing Trust's portfolio and how it can deliver high-quality homes quickly and cost-effectively.
Ms Winks will lead the organisation.
"There is so much need for the work that we do and at the moment there is so much opportunity for us to continue to do that and to continue to grow," Ms Winks said.
"We also need to make sure that we can on-board those things in a way where our people and our business operations are really well-supported, so making sure that we've got really direct focus on those two things is really important."
Customer satisfaction was core to the business, she said, and that focus would continue.
The restructure has been in the works for more than six months, but the NSW government's budget allocation to social housing in June confirmed to the Housing Trust that it was on the right track.
"Anybody who was paying attention and reading the tea leaves had been seeing the attitudes and the environment change... We're always thinking ahead," Ms Adair said.
The Housing Trust has long witnessed the worsening crisis, with almost 2900 households on the social housing waiting list in the Illawarra alone, and tens of thousands of people in housing stress.
"But I think what I'm seeing and hearing is a groundswell of awareness and changing attitudes around that, and I think a real visibility of the fact that this is a real issue, and a real acceptance and acknowledgement of the fact that having a safe, secure and affordable home is a basic right," Ms Winks said.
She hopes that what lies in the future is a reduction in the demand on services like the Housing Trust.
"There is a growing and broadening recognition that our housing system is broken and is not fit for purpose," Ms Adair added, especially as an increasing number of people experienced lack of affordability firsthand.
"It's a shame that it's had to get to that point to have the conversation, or bring the conversation to life, because it's not a situation that's occurred overnight," she said.
The Housing Trust's pipeline of work continues to progress, with a couple of projects - nine units for women in Dapto, and the Northsea apartment building in Wollongong's CBD - nearing completion.
Friday marked the start of construction work on a 27-apartment development in Dudley Street, while up to 180 new homes could eventuate at another Dapto site.
A proposal is also in the works for five projects to convert an existing 30 homes to upwards of 90 homes.
Ms Adair described the Housing Trust's work as a blend of the head and the heart.
"We're building homes that are going to be beautiful homes for the next 60 to 80 years... and we get the enormous privilege of being able to give keys to a home to someone to be able to grow old safely and respectfully, to be able to raise their kids, to be able to invest in the next generation, to be able to go through life."
Natalie Croxon
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
