Where to from here? Looking to the future of social and affordable housing at #NHCSydney

The number of households in the not-for-profit community housing sector over the last 10 years has more than doubled (35,667 in 2008 to 74,220 in 2016, a 108% increase). With such rapid growth the sector is becoming an even more important part of providing housing for households on low incomes.

How can the sector continue to grow efficiently and sustainably while providing the best and most affordable services for its tenants? The 2017 NHC presents a number of sessions to challenge and inspire everyone working for, or with an interest in, social housing organisations and allied service providers.

The major concurrent session Ready for growth: Building Australia’s affordable housing industry will examine the strategies required for continued growth. While the affordable housing sector needs secure financing models for increasing supply, this session will also investigate what other conditions, including system regulation and private sector engagement, are required to enable the sector to scale up to a thriving industry.

Large-scale social housing renewal programs are promising new mixed communities where social housing blends with private and affordable housing. The Contemporary estate renewal practices session will feature presentations from different states, focussing on what works with these projects and what the outcome is for tenants who were there before the rebuilding began.

As the push for greater supply of affordable housing continues, the session A stocktake on stock transfers will investigate what role stock transfers from government to the community housing sector play. By examining the practice in Australia to-date, this session frames the conditions required for successful transfers.

The City Deals agenda has been championed by the Commonwealth Government as a unique opportunity to coordinate the growth of cities through place-based partnerships between all levels of government and the private sector. Affordable housing has been identified as a priority for these Deals. In What’s the (City) Deal with affordable housing?, prominent journalist Leigh Sales will facilitate a discussion on and how local, state and federal governments can collaborate to achieve greater supply of affordable housing through these deals, as well as explore the implications for those working in the social and affordable housing sectors.