As she reflects on the year that was, Sue laments the shortfall in social and affordable housing in Victoria.
Quoting from a report on the recently commissioned research paper by Swinburne University’s Professor Terry Burke for the Community Housing Industry Association, Sue says that to maintain Victoria’s social housing supply at a mere 3.5 per cent of all housing would require an additional 30,800 dwellings by 2031 and 66,203 by 2051, which translates to more than 1,900 new dwellings each year.
She likens the challenges ahead to being at the crossroads.
“There is still much to be done… (but) We are well-positioned for the future. A future with financial sustainability, a future that builds on the models of housing and support, a future that considers the demands, and a future which we cannot do on our own.
“We need partners and partnerships… to continue to get the best outcomes for housing and support for those most vulnerable in our community.”
Click these to see a story from our 40 Stories In 40 Weeks
Sue Clarke
Bill O'Neil
Jan Boynton
Melanie Rogers
Candy Broad
Ken Belfrage
Warwick Cavanagh
We are guided by a committed, independent which provides strong governance and stewardship on behalf of our broader community.
Former Member for Northern Victoria and former State Government Minister for Housing, Local Government, Energy and Resources and Ports, and a founding member of Emily’s List. Chair of Safe Steps Family Violence Response Centre, Deputy Chair of Women’s Health Victoria, Chair of PrimeSafe, a Director of the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors, a Director of First Super, and a Director of Hepburn Community Wind Farm.
David Brant, former North East Housing Service Director and London Business School graduate with extensive skills in strategy development and implementation. With over 20 years’ experience in Corporate Governance in Australia and a number of countries in Asia, David provides management consultancy to businesses looking to improve their top and bottom lines.
Warwick Cavanagh is Chairperson of a key partner agency, Active Community Housing, a Director of National Disability Services (NDS), and a White Ribbon Ambassador. Highly respected across the disability sector, Warwick was the CEO of MOIRA Disability & Youth Services for 24 years, prior to joining the HHS Board.
Jan Boynton is an independent executive consultant with over 25 years’ experience at Executive and CEO level in local and state government and the not-for-profit sector across regional Victoria.
Melanie Rogers is an experienced governance and HR/IT executive with many years’ experience in local government and community sector. Melanie is also a committee member of the Bellarine Bayside Foreshore Committee of Management.
Ken was until his retirement a Partner at AFS & Associates accounting practice. He was a chartered accountant with 34 years in public accounting.
Andrew Cairns is the CEO of Community Sector Banking and has 15 years’ experience in senior management roles. He is also the Chair of Western Water.
Bill is a town planner and regional economic development practitioner. He operates his own consulting business, serving a range of public and private sector clients. Bill is also a sessional member of Planning Panels Victoria and a Director on the Board of the Bendigo Health Care Group
Sue has held senior positions in Health and Community Services over the past four decades including 12 years as CEO of Bendigo Community Health Services. She also holds board positions as a Director of Ambulance Victoria, Bendigo Health Care Group, Murray PHN, Zonta Club of Bendigo, and is a member of the Central Victorian AICD Advisory Committee.
Bendigo Urban Emergency Accommodation Resource Centre (BUEAC) is officially incorporated and becomes the first emergency housing program in Victoria funded by the state government.
Present CEO, Ken Marchingo takes over Bendigo Emergency Housing, operating on an annual budget of about $130,000.
BEH becomes Loddon Mallee Housing Services Ltd and annual budget tops $1 million for the first time.
LMHS adopts ‘Homeless’ by Thomas Kennington (1890) for its imagery. This painting hangs in the Bendigo Art Gallery.
“Where the heart is” first appeared on the LHMS letterhead.
LHMS becomes the first registred Affordable Housing Association in Victoria
Wattlewood, Carrum Downs, formerly the GK Tucker Estate owned by the Brotherhood of St Laurence, was purchased. Wattlewood is an $80+ million masterplanned private property development with a 237 lot residential subdivision and 100 new affordable hosuing units integrated with private market homes.
LHMS becomes Haven; Home, Safe and relocated to Forest Street headquarters.
Haven; Home, Safe completed its $34.5 million flagship project in Tram Road, Doncaster. It was officially opened by the Minister for Housing, Wendy Lovell.
Synergize Hub is the first Bendigo co-working organisation in a new worldwide movement, and the first co-working hub anywhere to be situated inside another organisation. The Hub are a collaboration of businesses passionate about creating a bright future for their clients and the wider community.
The merger of HHS and Preston North East Housing Service enabling the delivery of better, more efficient services for disadvantaged and displaced Victorians, from the northern and eastern suburbs of Melbourne to Mildura.
Minister for Housing, Wendy Lovell officially opened the $6.65 million social housing development in Chapel Street, Bendigo.
Sidney Myer Haven, the $7.5+ million program was officially opened by Baillieu Myer AC.
Sidney Myer Haven wins three awards including:
Chief Executive Officer Ken Marchingo AM appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2018 Australia Day Honours list. Ken received the honour for significant services to the community through social welfare programs and associations, particularly assistance for the homeless.
Telling one story a week in 40 weeks to mark our 40th anniversary this year has brought its own rewards. It has reminded us of the important role we play in people’s lives and the impact we’ve had.
This video is both CEO Report and a reflection on the organisation’s 40 years of service, the past 25 years with Ken at the helm.
As he says, there are things we do, that if we did not do them, others would. But there are things that we do, that if we did not, no one else would and we would all be much the poorer for it.
“The defining feature of Haven; Home, Safe is the refusal to accept the status quo. We have never been an organisation that stops its ideas, innovations, and services at the boundaries of what the contract says.”
“Commercial realities apply, of course, and we cannot do more than we have the resources or funding to do, but we can, within that envelope and others combined, do more than just that. And we do.”
Our is arguably one of the most talented and highest performing in the not-for-profit sector, comprising a group of experts in their field, with collectively over 100 years experience in the social housing and homelessness sectors.
In July this year, Trudi Ray was promoted to the newly created position of Chief Operations Officer (COO) as part of a restructure of the organisation.
Prior to being appointed COO, Trudi was the Executive Director for Operations in the southern region of Victoria for two years after serving as Executive Director Corporate Services from 2010 to 2016.
Her appointment followed the departure of Executive Director for Operations (North) Niall Hensey after nine years’ service.
This created an opportunity to deliver a different structure that more closely supports the strategy of the Board and the organisational requirements into the future.
The restructure also included the creation of two Executive General Manager positions to oversee day-to-day operations in the south and north of the state reporting to the new COO.
OBJECTIVE
To provide consistent, quality support services across all geographies to a growing number of clients who are vulnerable, disadvantaged, homeless or at risk of homelessness.
IMPACT
Staff worked diligently throughout the year with the Quality Manager and Quality Committee and to focus on meeting all the prescribed Department of Health and Human Services’ Standards in preparation for our triennial accreditation review. Out of a total of 45 criteria we averaged an outstanding 97.5% compliance to the Standards.
The review process also provided an opportunity to refine our suite of operational policies and procedures and to streamline services in accordance with a broader organisational restructure, which took effect at the end of June. We also appointed a new General Manager in the Mallee, who has made significant improvements in the quality of service delivery and established a number of new community and public sector partnerships.
Client demand for our services has continued unabated this year, which required us to re-evaluate our delivery model and institute major changes to ensure we are providing the most appropriate and long-term options to assist as many people as possible to make positive and lasting changes in their lives. The changes we’re making to our service delivery model are aimed at improving the quality and consistency of face-to-face client interactions will come into before the end of 2018.
Finally, one of the key outcomes of the Royal Commission into Family Violence in Victoria has been the provision of increased brokerage to access the private rental market and an expansion of head leasing programs. In the past financial year, we were successful in securing funding to head lease an additional 39 properties for women and their families escaping domestic violence following the success of head leasing 21 properties in early 2017 as part of our Moving On program.
Moving On provides choice to women and their children to work with us and their support service to secure private rental accommodation in a location of their choice. Of the initial 21 head leased properties, 94% of women have taken over the lease in their own right and moved on into employment or increased their employment and their children are more settled into education and out of school activities. The avoided costs to government of an upfront investment to secure rental options for these women will be long-lasting proving that the housing first model works.
Paul manages financial risk and leads the Finance and NRAS Compliance Teams, and he’s done so for over 20 years. Paul guides our financially sustainable business model whilst working closely with Operations to deliver on our purpose and secure growth opportunities in order to ensure long-term organisational success.
Objective
The key objectives for 2017-18 were to improve internal financial management processes and governance and to work collaboratively with our peers to influence external sector-wide environment changes.
Impact
Our single biggest challenge was to implement the finance modules our new integrated housing system Kypera.
After nearly two years we went live with a new accounting system in August 2017. While there are many issues still to work through, the integration with housing modules has worked well and has reduced the double entry of data.
The Finance team has worked collaboratively with our peers in Victoria to understand better the changes related to the implementation of the Victorian Housing Register (VHR). Extensive financial impact modelling was prepared that helped shape our response which will ensure that the organisation will be no worse off financially as a result of the VHR.
We have also collaborated with our Community Housing Sector partners at a national level through Powerhousing Australia to:
The Finance Team has also extensively reworked end-of-month reporting processes to produce financial reports for the Board two weeks ahead of previous deadlines. With a new accounting system this has been a challenge and further work is required to streamline processes and reporting.
At a governance level, the Finance Team has extensively revised the Financial Headroom Strategy. This strategy defines what financial headroom is, proposes several measures, and plans to improve it.
This strategy along with the HHS Asset Management Strategy and HHS Growth Strategy form part of our Sustainability Framework.
Kerri is responsible for managing the organisation’s Human Resources, IT, Risk Management, OH&S and Communications programs as well as providing executive support to the Board of Directors. Kerri is driven by the importance of ensuring the organisation has the tools and resources it needs to meet our purpose.
Objective
The Corporate Services function exists to support the work of the organisation as a whole, especially Operations staff, to ensure that they have the resources they need to be able to perform their roles effectively. In 2017-2018 we have focused on ensuring our service delivery meets the operational needs of the organisation.
Impact
We have achieved better service delivery and more streamlined response times through effective planning, and restructuring of roles. Significant improvements have also been achieved in the support provided to the Board.
Blake leads the Asset Maintenance, Housing Development, Strategic Services and Bid Teams, and with a growth mind set looks to the successful future of the organisation by tying in Government policy, internal resourcing and external opportunities to deliver a pipeline of growth prospects.
Objective
To achieve greater success in our tender and funding submissions and evolve the organisation through improved operating fundamentals.
Impact
In what has been the single, largest compact in the organisation’s history, we successfully tendered for 239 new head leases properties worth $60+ million in funding commitments over the next 10 years.
We also secured a Victorian Property Fund grant of $4.2 million to build 16 new properties in Bendigo and $4.2 million to deliver the most advanced disability property in Victoria – potentially Australia – as part of a major redevelopment in North Fitzroy.
Another $400,000 in funding from the Department of Health and Human Services, under the Rapid Housing program, has allowed us to secure private rental properties for people experiencing homelessness in regional areas of Victoria for a period of up to 12 months.
To ensure a more sustainable, flexible operating model we have redesigned how we manage our Asset Maintenance program by taking control of our inputs to impact our outputs.
By challenging the status quo and encouraging staff to think differently about how we work has seen us make significant strides towards delivering on our Purpose.
By we aim to have delivered
A range of sustainable housing outcomes for people who are homeless or in housing crisis.
Advocacy and support for our diverse clientele with a particular focus on developing life skills and individual capacity.
Relationships with government, community and commercial partners and other key stakeholders to achieve our Purpose and Values.
Resources, infrastructure and financial capacity of the organisation to achieve our Purpose and Values.
We are contributing $1.84 million towards the $4.62 million building program, which will provide long-term affordable rental housing for low-income single youth and single young parents at risk of homelessness.
The Flora Hill site, on Somerville Street, will comprise four one-bedroom units and four two-bedroom units, while the North Bendigo site at Lobb Street will be home to eight two-bedroom units. Both sites will be close to the Bendigo CBD, transport, schools, TAFE, community services and employment opportunities.
Support services will be a key component of the projects, with tenants of the Flora Hill site able to access the adjoining Sidney Myer Haven program, providing opportunities to participate in life-skill building activities and pre-vocational training programs.
All dwellings will include a range of environmentally sustainable design features, including heat pumps and solar boosted hot water systems, water saving taps and showerheads, and plumbed rainwater collection tanks to help reduce utility costs. Construction is expected to be completed in 2019.
Sure we’re proud of the $80+ million master-planned private property development with a 237-lot residential subdivision and 100 new affordable housing units integrated with private market homes. Who wouldn’t be?
And we’re pretty chuffed about continuing the legacy of social housing on the 17.4 ha site, formerly known as the GK Tucker Estate, in Carrum Downs.
When we bought the property from the Brotherhood of St Laurence in 2009, we knew we were in for the long haul, demolishing a decommissioned aged care facility and 130 run-down units with 100 elderly residents in situ.
We committed to a staged redevelopment of the brownfield site to keep the elderly residents housed until their new homes were built because, as a social landlord, that was the right thing to do.
Along the way, we have had numerous permit delays, spent a massive amount of time and money on new infrastructure including roads and services, and tackled some tricky environmental issues, but it has all been worth it. (Although we never did find evidence of the protected Southern Toadlet).
Now, in 2018, the residents are all happily living their new homes with their new neighbours.
One of the happiest and oldest resident is Olive Fuller.
Olive turned 100 in October. We celebrated her birthday with family, friends and special guests Sonya Kilkenny and the Mayor of the City of Frankston Cr Colin Hampton.
In recognition of reaching this milestone, Olive will continue to live in her home rent-free, because Haven; Home, Safe, is where the heart is…
The refurbished bricks and mortar transformation of the two-storey student accommodation into 17 modern studio apartments in the heart of the city belies its social impact.
Smythe Place is a community, and the women who live there are actively engaged and have a say in the decisions that affect them, their housing situation, and the use of their shared spaces.
Regular “house meetings”, surveys, and face-to-face conferences are just some of the ways residents can raise issues with their property managers and access information about how to independently manage their tenancies and build their capacity to participate in work and the broader community.
The project includes $4.5 million in upgrades using a $4.3 million grant from the Department of Social Security Supported Accommodation Infrastructure Fund (SAIF).
One of the biggest challenges to overcome has been the conversion of 30 x 36sqm apartments into 22 disability apartments with a majority at Livable Housing Platinum specification.
Our partners in this major project due to be completed next year include disability housing specialists Active Community Housing, Bent Architecture, and SAS Construction.
The program aims to increase access to affordable housing for low-income Victorians by providing a range of supports, including a direct pathway to long-term housing, for people experiencing homelessness.
Through Housing Direct and funding from the Department of Health and Human Services, we have provided five new homes and Bethany Community Support is providing case management support to enable the clients to sustain their housing and create connections to their local community.
Housing Direct also helps alleviate the bottleneck experienced by homelessness services in their emergency, refuge, short-term and transitional accommodation.
Bethany CEO, Grant Boyd (second from left) Haven; Home, Safe Chief Operations Officer Trudi Ray (third from left) with Hon John Eren MP.
We’ve always known how special the program was because no one else was doing it. Medium-term housing with intensive, individualised support programs tailored to each of the residents.
We also believed that the unique model was replicable, we just need to prove to potential funders of the program’s social and economic value. So we invited Think Impact to measure the Social Return on Investment (SROI).
The report is under wraps until 2019, but the results are very exciting with the Think Impact evaluators concluding that the Sidney Myer Haven program was transforming the lives and the lives of their children in the most profound ways and that the value of the program in circumventing the cycle of hardship and disadvantage could not be overstated.
The voices of SMH residents also show the life changing nature of SMH and its work:
“My mental health has improved. With stability of a safe home, knowing there is support I needed has taken such a weight off my life. I enjoy being a mother today. With routine in our lives, structure and play groups. I have gotten back into enjoying cooking… I set up goals to work toward my future career… starting to develop a life for myself with healthy friends and positive people. I started to like myself again, I look at myself as a strong woman. What this program has given me in 6 weeks is unbelievable. I’m grateful to this program. I couldn’t keep going at this world alone.”
“I’m dealing with my issues when they arise instead of avoiding them, and I am becoming the kind of parent I want to be to my daughter.”
“I have been able to go back to school support my two kids and been more independent. I can manage my money better and live comfortably”.
Every Tuesday morning Orange Sky’s van parks outside the Mary Street office to offer a mobile laundry and connect with people through conversations with friendly volunteers (pictured).
Craig’s story is compelling viewing. Homeless for three years, Craig says we saved his life by finding him a home. “Having a home changed my life,” says Craig who is held his first exhibition, Faces of Bendigo, at LQ Markets in Strathdale.
We spoke with new mum Kimberly and her partner Josh about the challenges of being homeless with a new baby and the difficulties of applying for private rentals in the current market.
Kerry Ashley, our Director of Homelessness Acquisition and Development, reflects on her 15 years’ service with the organisation. Kerry is an innovator with an intrinsic knowledge of homelessness, social housing, specialist youth and family services and has played an integral role in the development of three major programs during this time.
Hear how Jo Smith, our dedicated senior worker in Initial Assessment and Planning in the Haven; Home, Safe Preston Office, copes when dealing with the everyday challenges of assisting people in housing crisis.
We had planned to publish the 20,000+ word book to mark our 10th anniversary of becoming an Affordable Housing Association in 2015.
It was a “rollicking good read” according to the lucky few who had read the original manuscript at the time. Unable to secure enough private funding to cover the print costs, we shelved the project.
With our 40th anniversary approaching, we decided now was the time, so it was back to the drawing board for Sarah and Don to capture the past seven years.
True to the original intent, Homecoming is an oral history of our humble beginnings, struggles and successes to commemorate 40 years of service.
Each cleverly crafted each is based on is a subject theme, blending people’s anecdotal musings and reminiscences with extracts from archival records and reports.
In addition to generating 12,851 hours of paid work, Hive launched a new website, had a little name change, and gained some well-deserved recognition at a national level, featuring in Dollars and Sense, a ground-breaking book that champions and celebrates the social enterprise in Australia and has just recently become Social Traders certified.
Certification provides brand credibility and will enhance Hive’s prospects of winning commercial procurement contracts with business and Government buyers so we can pursue our social purpose.
As a certified Social Trader, Hive will have access to exclusive networking opportunities and connections to the broader social enterprise community and stay abreast of current sector developments.
There are about 20,000 social enterprises in Australia. It is estimated that for every $100,000 spent on social procurement, 1.5 jobs are created for those suffering or at risk of disadvantage.
The purpose of regulation in the human services sector is to protect clients ensuring the lives of vulnerable Victorians are enhanced through the delivery of services which promote safety and wellbeing, and reduce risk of harm.
It’s a snapshot in time, to be sure, and compliance with the Standards is an ongoing requirement and indeed a major focus of our work.
So, we were thrilled to read the feedback on our 2018 review by the independent auditors from Quality Innovation Performance (QIP) in which we scored 97.5% compliance to the Standards.
“(The organisation is) flexible, innovative, and manages its resources with skill and care.”
“Staff expressed confidence in their skills and the support they receive from their managers, and stakeholders confirmed that they are excellent partners, maintaining a long-standing commitment to assertive outreach and wrap-around service delivery in a challenging environment,”
Over the past year, as part of our ICT Roadmap II, we have built and implemented HomeBase, a Sharepoint cloud-based platform which we use as our centralised document management system and primary internal communications and information hub. HomeBase enables us to share and collaborate with colleagues and to access internal sites, documents, and other information from anywhere —at the office, at home, or from a mobile device.
Add to this a VPN solution to improve remote network access and an automated web-based HR system complete with customer kiosk to empower and engage staff as they take control of their own information.
Our newest tech-tool is the Papercut roaming print service “follow me” which allows print jobs to find users based on their physical location.
Innovative digital technology solutions like these and more are helping to make everyone jobs more efficient and our workforce more connected.
While the majority of the NRAS incentives are attached to dwellings owned by private investors, a proportion are allocated to properties that we own across the state.
Since the scheme started in 2011, we have built and maintained strong partnerships with more than 40 private property managers, the Department of Social Services, and Department of Health and Human Services.
Last November, the National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS) Regulations 2008 were amended to create protections for investors of approved rental dwellings in NRAS and allow investors to request a change of their Approved Participant in certain circumstances.
In response to these changes, and to assist investors considering transferring their incentives, we developed a dedicated online presence to answer common questions and links to a range of information resources, including our policy to comply with the Act and the Regulations and pass on the incentives to the investors within 30-days.
One year on and we are about to host the first of our information evenings for those investors considering making the switch.
Maximising income from rents ensures we can continue to deliver our services to the highest possible standards and is fundamental to achieving our strategic goals of More Homes, More Supports, More Partnerships and More Capacity.
Rent First is a two-year strategy aimed to ensure we have suitable and robust arrangements in place to prevent debt, maximise rental income and minimise arrears.
One key objectives of the Rent First strategy is to address the needs of our most vulnerable, complex and financially challenged tenants.
According to the Centre for Social Impact (Financial Resilience in Australia 2017), one in eight adults in Australia (12.6 per cent) experienced severe or high financial stress during 2017. This means that they are less able to bounce back when things go wrong, such as a higher than expected utility bill or a broken washing machine.
More than half (56.3 per cent) felt some level of financial stress compared with 53.2 per cent a year earlier.
Although our affordable rents are set at a level that means a tenant should never be in rent stress, their ability to access low cost basic financial products and services and manage their budget effectively, will sometimes dictate whether they are able to prioritise their rent payments over and above other competing priorities.
To ensure a consistent statewide response, we recently entered a partnership arrangement with Good Shepherd Microfinance to provide free debt counselling, money advice, and access to interest free loans which could be used to clear debt to avoid eviction or to purchase items that might otherwise have been purchased using funds set aside for rent, resulting in rent arrears.
Good Shepherd Microfinance is a charity that has been involved in delivering microfinance and money advice and debt counseling solutions to vulnerable Victorians for over 35 years. They have extensive experience of the financial needs of low income Australians, which gives them a unique understanding of the importance of helping people manage their finances with dignity.
To date, we’ve sold 569 Keep Cups and hope to sell even more in the lead up to Christmas with our glass versions arriving in October. They make an ideal Kris Kringle gift, and you can support Haven; Home, Safe by buying one here. And there’s nothing sweeter than raising over $1000 from the sale of Gingerbread Houses from Harvest and Hot Cross Buns from the Sourdough Bakery.
But it’s not just us fundraising to support our clients, countless others have joined in the fun including Bendigo Fresh Wholesalers who raised nearly $1800 from selling juice in July and the mums and dads at Strathfieldsay Primary School. Their Trivia Night raised $1700. In Preston, OrangeSky Laundry offers a free weekly service and the Junction Hotel patrons in association with the Melbourne Racing Club Foundation and Pegasus Leisure Group donated $1000 donation and are sponsoring an end of year lunch for all our clients in December.
Throughout the year we receive hundreds of donations – big and small – of cash, vouchers and gift cards, non-perishable foods, clothing, and toiletries. Including $268 from the students at Mildura Christian College who had to cancel their camping trip due to wet and cold weather, so they decided to raise funds for the homeless instead and husband and wife travelling around Australia dropped off a hand knitted rugs. Apparently, she knits and donates blankets to different homeless organisations around the country.
We also receive weekly food bags and amazing Christmas hampers from Victory Church, snacks from Preston Coles, soaps from Urthly Organics, parents and kids packs from Bendigo TAFE, underwear and personal care packs from Encompass Care, hand-knitted beanies and scarves from Epping RSL, quilts from Uniting Threads, regular supplies of toiletry packs from Zonta, Bendigo Seventh-day Adventist Church, and Loddon Campaspe Multicultural Services, vouchers from KISS FM, and Share the Dignity supplies bags of sanity products and stocks a vending machine with pads and tampons in Bendigo and will shortly install a maching in Preston, just to name a few. Staff and their family and friends also donate hundreds of dollars and fund-raise on our behalf. People are amazingly generous and, in turn, were are incredibly grateful to be your charity of choice.
“The only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
We were joined by partner agency Active Community Housing and guest speakers Ged Kearney MP, Batman, and senior staff from the NDIA.
There were inspirational speeches from the Chair Sue Clarke, CEO Ken Marchingo AM, and incoming COO Trudi Ray and a Culture Workshop facilitated by Executive Director Kerri Carr to lay the foundations of our new Culture Club, which will promote and enable diversity and inclusion across the organisation.
The highlight of All Staff Days are the recognition and presentation of awards to long-serving staff, especially the 2017-18 Employee of the Year award to Robert Divincenzo and the Barb Devcic award recipient, Benita Menting.
“Robert has gone above and beyond to ensure that the deadlines of the NRAS team are collectively met even if it meant he was working outside of his core working hours,” wrote one of the nominators.
“He fully embraces innovation and change … and is across all changes to NRAS Regulations.”
It was noted in one nomination that Robert takes a collaborative approach with investors and property managers alike, (including) Accord Real Estate and Apartment Specialist who manage 138 and 80 NRAS dwellings respectively. When he took over the NRAS compliance for these properties, there were a significant number of overdue assessments.
“Robert worked patiently and diligently with the property managers on a daily basis to turn the suite of portfolios around. This included multiple visits to their premises to provide detailed training on the principles underpinning NRAS and HHS’s requirements.
“Under Robert’s guidance, Accord has made major improvements to its systems and processes and, in doing built strong relationships.”
And finally, “He never waivers or complains and always holds HHS in the highest esteem with his dealing with external stakeholders. Being an open plan office we are all privy to conversations held on the phone and this helps us follow his lead on how to deal with all stakeholders .”
“Benita has been amazing in her role as acting Homeless Services Team Leader for over one year, and in her role Acting as General Manager on few occasions,” one of the nominators said.
“Her optimism, client focus, and hands-on approach are both remarkable and admirable.
“Working closely with Benita makes a gargantuan task easier, not only is she willing to give her time, she actively listens, which helps to take the load off a stressful situation.
“Benita emulates all of HHS’s Values”, said another nominator. “Benita is wholly ethical, is one of the most trustworthy people you can meet, and shows everyone the same dignity and respect. Benita treats clients and colleagues with the same esteem.”
“She chooses universal improvement in all daily practice, showing exceptional initiative leading to significant improvement in work processes, most recently with the implementation of moving all Case Management work practices to an electronic (no paper wastage anymore) system. This has been a huge task and has taken several years to implement.”
Total property numbers have increased as a result of growth in the number of head leased properties, for the most part allocated to people who have experienced family violence.
The number of owned affordable housing properties has reduced as a result of the decommissioning of a larger Melbourne metropolitan property. This will be redeveloped with new properties created over the next 18 months.