SA Housing Trust

Many of our tenants work hard to maintain their yards, but Wayne and his neighbours have created something truly special! Over the course of several years they’ve collaborated to design a beautiful garden space at their Housing Trust property.   The garden features a whole range of plants and also includes shelter for native wildlife. Others in the community have taken notice of the stunning garden too and contributed bits and pieces to help it grow!   For Wayne the garden is more than just a hobby, telling us it’s also great for his physical and mental health, getting him out of the house and improving his mobility.   In recognition of their efforts our Director of Customer Operations, Suraya Naidoo, travelled to visit the garden and present the neighbours with a Mitre 10 gift card to help them continue the project. It’s a great outcome for the community and shining example of how good our tenants can be!

Marion was thrilled when she heard that her home had been selected for upgrades through the Social Housing Energy Performance Initiative (SHEPI). She’s one of the first to have the appliances in her Housing Trust property changed from gas to electric, including a new hot water service and cooktop. More energy efficient lighting and windows have also been installed as part of the upgrade. SHEPI is upgrading social housing properties nationally, including 4000 homes in South Australia, increasing their energy efficiency and aiming to reduce energy bills for tenants. The program is federally funded and state delivered; to-date we’ve upgraded around 200 homes. Tenants at eligible properties will be contacted, so there’s no need to apply.

Our walk-up flats are receiving major upgrades at multiple sites around Adelaide to create more safe, modern and comfortable housing for South Australians. These significant projects have been made possible through funding from both the Social Housing Accelerator and Public Housing Improvement Program, and are one of many ways we’re working hard to meet the needs of our tenants and the community. You can learn more about the work we’re doing from our CFO Nick Symons on Master Builders SA's Building Ideas TV, airing this Sunday at 4:30pm on Channel 9, 9Life and 9Now!   Also featured, will be another exciting development we’re working on in Tonsley with our partners at Junction Australia. Don’t miss out! https://lnkd.in/gUSpM9FU

These stunning public homes were built fast, and soon they will provide modern, accessible housing for eligible South Australians.   The U-Panel walls we trialled on this project go up around four times quicker than traditional bricklaying, requiring minimal labour and equipment to assemble. This means we can get South Australians into homes faster!   U-Panels have a range of environmental benefits, and the recycled ash they’re made with gives them excellent strength, fire and weather resistance. These panels can be constructed rain or shine, in all four seasons!   Homes like these are an innovative way to tackle some of today’s housing challenges and we’re thrilled with how they’ve turned out! Big thanks to Astel Homes and U-Panel SA for partnering with us on this project, and to SITESEC for the timelapse footage.

Yesterday we were thrilled to help break ground on Purrakaitya, a new village for Aboriginal Elders. Located on Aboriginal-owned land near Warriparinga, a culturally significant site in the southern suburbs, the village features 40 units designed to create long-term, culturally welcoming housing. Importantly, it will bring together Elders who might otherwise live apart, building community and preserving culture. The project was made possible through a partnership between native title holders, the State Government, the Federal Government through Housing Australia, and community organisations including Aboriginal Community Housing Ltd, the Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation and Kaurna Yerta Aboriginal Corporation (KYAC). The Housing Trust is proud to be contributing $5.81 million toward the project.

We’re hiring! An opportunity is available for the position of ASO5 Procurement Advisor within the Finance and Partnerships Directorate. The role is accountable to the Manager, Procurement, for developing and implementing a range of supplier strategies and best practice procurement policies to support the directorate's business needs. This role has been advertised on the iworkforsa website, and is a long term contract up to 30 October 2026. For more information please visit: https://lnkd.in/gxx59js7

We’re thrilled to have been recognised last night at the UDIA National awards for our South Australia’s Virtual Power Plant project, winning the Social and Community Infrastructure Award category.   The project, a collaboration between the Housing Trust, Tesla and the Department for Energy and Mining, South Australia, aims to provide more affordable, reliable, and secure electricity for all South Australians.   It has led to over 6500 eligible Housing Trust properties being connected to a power generating network comprised of solar panels and Tesla Powerwall home battery systems and the network is growing more every day. The SA VPP has already helped stabilise the power grid on numerous occasions including during major bushfire events.   For more information on the SA VPP you can visit: https://lnkd.in/gkW7Sipw UDIA SA

These new units will provide safe housing for at-risk women and their families. We were proud to partner with YWCA Australia to provide financial support for the project, which features 24 rental apartments for women in need of long-term affordable housing, many of whom will have been affected by family or domestic violence. These new homes have been completed in addition to other women’s housing projects under construction in the Adelaide CBD, including our Tucker Street accommodation for older women at risk of homelessness. Together, projects like these will have a huge positive impact for women in our community.

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Julie-Anne Burgess as our new SA Housing Trust Chief Executive. Welcome Julie-Anne!   Julie-Anne has broad experience in public sector governance and strategic service delivery. She is well known and highly respected across government and beyond. Highly skilled in negotiating complex policy reform, she has led policy and operational reforms and delivered better services for communities. Her career has taken her across Tasmania, New South Wales and brought her here to our beautiful South Australia.   Currently the Chief Executive of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, she brings to the Trust extensive leadership experience across the South Australian public sector, having also held executive roles in the Department for Trade and Investment, Department of Treasury and Finance, Courts Administration Authority, and SA Health. She begins her role with us on April 28. Again, welcome to the SA Housing Trust Julie-Anne! 

We’re building modern public housing all around Adelaide, including these new blocks of flats in the northern and western suburbs. Constructed by our partners at Buildtec Group, the combined sites will provide 20, two bedroom homes, that include accessible lower-level dwellings, off-street undercover parking, and air conditioning. Both sites are a part of our Public Housing Improvement Program (PHIP) and our ongoing effort to build better housing for South Australians.