Please note that the Federation will be undergoing office renovations from 9 August - 3 September. There will be interuptions to our services and availability. Please bear with us during this time and apologies for any inconvenience.

2010 NSW Community Housing Conference - the future is now (3 Aug 2010)
Tuesday 9th and Wednesday 10th November 2010
Newcastle City Hall, Newcastle Civic Precinct, 290 King Street Newcastle
The Federation is pleased to announce that the 2010 NSW Community Housing Conference is now open for registrations.
Information about the conference and registration details may be found at the link below:
http://www.hotelnetwork.com.au/conferences/conferences/housing2010/communityhousing

Nominations have been extended for the 2010 NSW Awards for Excellence in Community Housing (3 Aug 2010)
The NSW Awards for Excellence in Community Housing were established to recognise the achievements of the community housing sector and to encourage excellence. The NSW Awards Steering Committee administers and presents the Awards. Download the nomination form, awards information pack, or Awards bulletin for more information.

Keep Them Safe training for community housing (6 July 2010)
Keep Them Safe training has now been scheduled for community housing providers. This half day training session will cover:

• what community housing workers need to know and do as mandatory reporters to support a shared approach to child well being and
• what organisational practice will be needed to support mandatory reporting . All staff are encouraged to attend.
  

The training is free , however places are limited according to space availability, so please register to secure your place. The registration form is now  available to download.

Elearning: cart load of e-learning goodies (22 June 2010)
NSWFHA presented at a two day online conference in June, attracting the highest participation for an industry elearning session.  The presentation focussed on free technologies available to community housing. The demonstration page “The cart load of e-learning goodies” , developed by Ruth Djordjevic in partnership with Western Sydney Institute TAFE,  is now available on the NSWFHA website

Federation response to Commonwealth regulations & growth discussion paper (21 June 2010)
The Federation has submitted its response to the  Commonwealth discussion paper entitled Regulation and Growth of the Not-For-Profit Housing Sector. (Federation response)  (Commonwealth discussion paper) The Federation has also participated in a number of consultations with the Commonwealth on the paper.  Our position supports a national system to improve financing opportunities, avoid entry barriers, and ensure tenants have similar protections across the country. We supported a model that registers and reports nationally, but in which regulation is administered at a state level against national model legislation and standards determined by COAG. We urge that the basis for such new model standards and legislation be the current NSW system.

Launch of National Community Housing Standards Manual - third edition (6 June2010)
The third edition of the National Community Housing Standards Manual was launched by the Federal Housing Minister, the Hon Tanya Plibersek MP and the Community Housing Federation of Australia on  June 9.  The National Community Housing Standards were first developed in 1998 to establish standards of good practice in service delivery for community housing providers.  Providers in NSW have been undertaking external quality assurance accreditation against the Standards for over 10 years. They were  last reviewed in 2002. The review of the Standards involved consultation with stakeholders across Australia.  It particularly strengthens standards on financial planning, asset management and business planning. The NSW Federation of Housing Associations and the Community Housing Federation of Australia were on the reference group that finalised the new edition.  A copy of the third edition of the National Community Housing Standards Manual can be found at http://www.housing.qld.gov.au/programs/ch/publications/index.htm.

National Rental Affordability Scheme - Round four call for applications will open on June 14 (28 May 2010)
Minister for Housing, Tanya Plibersek today announced that round four applications for the National Rental Affordability Scheme round will open on June 14. This round will encourage applications from investors wanting to build at least 20 new affordable rental homes for low and moderate income households, with priority given to applications to build 100 or more homes. Applications for round four will be assessed as they are received. The round will close on December 14, 2010. www.fahcsia.gov.au/sa/housing/progserv/affordability/nras/Pages/default.aspx

New Housing Minister for NSW (26 May 2010)
On 21st of May, in a Cabinet reshuffle, the Hon Frank Terenzini replaced David Borger as Minister for Housing. Minister Terenzini is member for Maitland and holds the portfolios of Minister for Housing, Minister for Small Business and Minister Assisting the Premier on Veterans' Affairs. Minister Borger is now Minister for Roads and Minister for Western Sydney. The Federation congratulates both Ministers on their new appointments and extends a warm thanks to Minister Borger for his many initiatives in his time as Minister for Housing.

Outcome of social housing stimulus tender announced (30 April 2010)
Eleven preferred providers have been announced to take on ownership of 4,550 properties being developed under the Nation Building Economic Stimulus Plan (NBESP) social housing package.  The successful providers were selected through a tender that opened in December 2009 and will be required to leverage additional housing from the asset they will receive. The preferred providers are:
   

Argyle Community Housing	139
Blue CHP	285
Bridge Housing	161
Central Tablelands Community Housing	184
Compass Housing Services	787
Homes North Community Housing	252
Mission Australia Housing	1,046
North Shore Community Housing	222
On Track Community Programs	99
St George Community Housing	1,103
The Housing Trust	273

(For the full list of ‘packages’).  12 preferred providers have also already been allocated 860 stage 1 NBESP properties.  Final confirmation of transfer of ownership to the preferred providers will require approval by the Treasurer.  The date of the final announcement is not yet known.

Housing Pathways goes live to provide better access for applicants (27 April 2010)
The new system for applying for social housing commenced on 27 April. Housing Pathways is underpinned by the ‘No Wrong Door’ protocol that requires collaboration between public and community housing providers in order to provide integrated responses for presenting clients.  The protocol will enable clients to receive a consistent standard of housing advice and streamlined access to social housing and other housing assistance.To find out more go to Housing Pathways website.  

Housing Amendment (Community Housing Providers) Bill 2009 (NSW) (11 March 2010)
The Housing Amendment (Community Housing Providers) Bill 2009 was passed by both house of Parliament on the 9th March 2010, and received royal assent on 18th March. The Bill. The object to this bill is to amend the Housing Act 2001:
(a) to enable the Governor to vest land owned by the New South Wales Land and Housing Corporation (the Corporation) in a registered community housing provider that is also a company registered under the Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth, and
(b) to provide for the registration by the Corporation of an interest in certain land such as land that has been so vested or the purchase of which was funded by the Corporation, and
(c) to prevent certain dealings with land in which the Corporation has an interest without the consent of the Corporation, and—
(d) to provide other measures for the protection of the Corporation's interest in certain land.
You may find the full transcript of the debate here: (see link)

Keep Them Safe - Amendments to the Child Protection Amendment (Wood Enquiry Recommendations) Act 2009 (5 Feb 2010)
Providers are encouraged to access online resources about the changes and how they impact on Community Housing Providers at the Keep Them Safe webpage: www.keepthemsafe.nsw.gov.au
You can also subscribe  to the  NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet Keep them Safe newsletter.
Federation bulletins on Keep Them Safe are posted online in the Publications page

See previously posted items: "What's New" - archived