Providing community housing

Community Housing Peak Agencies  

Two agencies support community housing providers (CHPs) in NSW:  

• the Community Housing Industry Association NSW (CHIA NSW) and  
• Churches Housing Inc.  

CHIA NSW

CHIA NSW is the peak industry body for community housing in NSW.  It represents 100 members who own, manage and maintain over 50,000 homes for low income NSW families.  

CHIA NSW was established in 1992 as the Federation of Housing Associations. Its purpose is to support the development of housing associations in NSW.  CHIA has helped develop best practice for its members. CHIA is also an essential training provider for housing associations. It provides training for:

• day-to-day housing management
• organisational governance.  

For more information, visit the Community Housing Industry Association NSW website.  

Churches Housing Inc.  

In 1996, the NSW government worked with the NSW Ecumenical Council to establish Churches Community Housing Ltd (CCHL). The purpose was to develop partnerships between the government and church bodies. These partnerships were an effective way to increase the range of community housing options across NSW.

From 2002, CCHL adopted a dual role. It also operated as a community housing provider. It managed properties previously managed by individual church groups.  In 2010, CCHL separated into:

• Ecclesia Housing (a community housing provider)
• Churches Housing Inc (CHI), which was established as a peak body.  

One of CHI’s purposes is to increase the supply of affordable rental housing. It does this by brokering partnerships between:

• the government
• churches
• investors
• housing providers.  

CHI also provides a range of support services to church-based housing providers. This includes advice, consultancy and brokerage services.  

For more information, visit Churches Housing Inc.  

Community Housing industry development  

The NSW Community Housing Industry Development Strategy 2013/14 - 2015/16 was a joint initiative of Homes NSW and CHIA NSW. The original strategy ended in 2016, but activities from the strategy have continued to help develop the industry.  

The Industry Development Strategy aims to help the industry respond to challenges and opportunities. To support this aim, there are 3 objectives. These are to enhance:  

• CHPs’ capacity for business development and diversification, including through partnering  
• CHPs’ capacity to continue to deliver quality outcomes and measure their performance
• the capacity of investors and funding bodies to support the development of the industry.  

The strategy is implemented through an annual program of projects. Over 70 projects have been completed since it began. Resources produced under the strategy can be found at CHIA NSW.  

Community Housing Leasing Program  

The Community Housing Leasing Program provides funding to registered community housing providers. This funding allows them to head-lease properties from the private rental market. This then allows CHPs to provide additional social housing to help meet demands.  

Details about the program for CHPs are set out in the Community Housing Leasing Program Guidelines.  The Guidelines set out:

• the objectives for the program
• use of the funding
• processes for managing changes to the funding allocation and quota
• reporting and performance requirements.  

For more information, see the Community Housing Leasing Program Guidelines.