From today, the Office for Regional Housing – established to tackle chronic regional housing shortages – is seeking interest from builders to partner with and ensure much-needed homes are rolled out as quickly as possible.
The Office, within Renewal SA and part of the Malinauskas Government's A Better Housing Future plan, is tasked with facilitating the delivery of housing to attract and retain key workers and help address a skills shortage in regional areas.
The Office's first priority is the Regional Key Worker Housing Scheme – a pilot program will deliver 30 homes for teachers, police officers and health care workers across the South East, Riverland, Mid North, Far West Coast and Copper Coast.
Renewal SA has secured sites in Mount Gambier, Renmark and Port Augusta for the first of the new homes, as work continues to find other suitable locations.
It is anticipated a strong contingent of local companies will bid to build the new homes, fuelling employment opportunities in each region.
Construction is expected to start early next year, with first residents set to move in by mid-2025.
Following the initial rollout, the scheme is set to be expanded to create more government worker housing in other regions as well as accommodate the needs of private sector employees across a host of industries.
Other regions identified include Kangaroo Island and Whyalla, with builders encouraged to register their interest amid growing demand to support major projects like the Hydrogen Jobs Plan as well as KI's timber, agriculture and tourism sectors.
It follows the Office meeting with councils, developers and businesses to understand the challenges in construction and immediate and future workforce needs.
Builders wanting to be part of the Government's significant pipeline of work can register their interest at renewalsa.sa.gov.au/office-for-regional-housing-registration-of-interest. The ROI will close on Thursday, 5 October.
The Malinauskas Government's $474.7 million housing package, introduced in the June State Budget, includes abolishing stamp duty for first home buyers of new homes up to $650,000, fast tracking the State's single largest land release and establishing the new planning and development unit to support residents.
As put by Nick Champion
We are taking action to deliver more homes in regional areas being hurt by a lack of supply and suitable accommodation for workers.
We want to hear from experienced builders who can start work quickly to ensure our regions can grow and provide the services their communities need.
Higher development costs and limited capacity often prove challenging for country townships, which is why we are stepping in to support the local sector and fast-track housing supply across regional South Australia.
As put by Office for Regional Housing Director Matt Hunt
Now that we have secured land in Mount Gambier, Renmark and Port Augusta, we want to get construction underway on our first houses as early as possible next year.
This will then flow into further developments in other regions, noting we have particularly strong demand to meet in the Copper Coast and Upper Spencer Gulf.
This is the first step in a multi-step approach to be able to engage builders into the future – we are looking for ongoing partners who can tender for more sites into the future and who can deliver different types of homes to suit the needs and challenges of different areas.
As put by Housing Industry Association SA Executive Director Stephen Knight
The Housing Industry Association is anticipating a slowdown in building activity commencing in early 2024, as the impact of high interest rates and cost of living pressures on new home sales begins to bite.
The opportunity announced by Minister Champion to deliver 30 new homes in regional SA will be welcome news for builders looking to fill their order books for next year and beyond.
Regional builders can move forward with confidence that there will be plenty of work for the foreseeable future, which will be good for local trades and suppliers and particularly for apprentices who will be the next generation of local builders.
