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We have heard many invaluable insights and ideas about how we can form partnerships to deliver real, sustainable regional housing solutions.

And, as you’ll read in this update, action is already underway!

We will provide these news updates regularly – please invite your colleagues and associates to sign up. You can also find information on our webpage and can contact us via email or by phoning 1300 342 080.

Kind regards,
Matt Hunt
Director, Office for Regional Housing

Regional builders ROI now open

We are now calling on regional builders to register their interest in partnering with us to build new homes across the state.

In particular, we’re looking for builders in Mount Gambier, Renmark, the Copper Coast and Port Augusta, as well as those who can deliver traditional housing solutions and/or possible modular or transportable housing options in places like Ceduna, Whyalla and Kangaroo Island.

We’re hoping to hear from builders who can get started quickly and then continue to take on further projects as they come down the pipeline.

Read the full announcement about the ROI here.

Register your interest here.

Soon we will also be opening an EOI process for other strategic projects, so keep an eye out for another e-news update shortly.

Regional Key Worker Housing Scheme update

We have now secured land in Mt Gambier, Renmark and Port Augusta for our first major initiative, the Regional Key Worker Housing Scheme. We aim to see works commencing on the first three sites from early 2024, and we are continuing to work towards the acquisition of further sites on the Copper Coast and in Ceduna.

In the initial pilot program, we will deliver 30 new homes in these five regional areas that will be specifically allocated to teachers, healthcare professionals and police.

The homes will be underpinned by long-term leases that will provide certainty of housing availability for employers, and certainty of occupancy for private investors who will ultimately own the houses. At the same time, building these new houses will free up existing rental properties, and start to provide some relief to the exceptionally tight rental market being experienced in country areas.

In time, the intention is to expand this model out to more regions and more employment sectors. The critical challenge is to translate the undeniable demand for housing into long-term leasing commitments that we can structure a project around. We encourage regional councils and businesses interested in the scheme to contact us.

Get to know us!

Our role is to be your front door into state government. Over the coming editions of our e-news we will introduce the team, starting with a bit about me:

I’m a proud South Australian with my roots firmly in the country and I am excited about the opportunity to help unlock the huge potential for growth and prosperity in regional South Australia.

I started out my professional life as a farmer on my family’s mixed cropping and grazing property in the Upper South East. I love heading down to the Tatiara where my brother still farms the property that my great-great-grandfather bought over a century ago.

In the late1990s, I swapped one sort of stock market for another and studied finance at Adelaide Uni, before spending the next 10 years in the banking sector working in Sydney, London and North America. My focus was primarily in social infrastructure projects – pulling together groups of companies and financial structures to build, finance and operate new schools, hospitals and courtrooms.

I returned to South Australia in 2008 to work for the state government, helping to deliver the new Royal Adelaide Hospital for SA Health. I made the move to Renewal SA and the world of property development in 2016, with an initial focus on the coordination of projects in the Adelaide Riverbank and CBD area.

Just about everything I have done in my career to date has been about getting people, companies and governments to come together and find the financial, commercial and practical solutions required to get things built for the communities that need them.

For me personally, being the first Director of the Office for Regional Housing is an exciting chance to draw on the experience that I have picked up over the past 25 years for use in the challenging task of unlocking housing supply in regional South Australia.

The houses that we build, or help to get built, will be crucial to our ability as a state to attract and retain the workforce we need to deliver the economic growth and quality of life that regional South Australia can offer.

My team and I look forward to working with you.

In the news…

We’ll be including links to relevant articles, events and developments in the regional housing space in these e-newsletters. If you see something that you think could be shared, please let us know!

Regional builders called on to deliver new homes across the state
(Renewal SA, 18 September 2023)

Land secured for Regional Key Worker Housing in Port Augusta and Renmark
(Renewal SA, 15 September 2023)

First land parcel secured for Regional Key Worker Housing Scheme
(Renewal SA, 18 July 2023)

Works underway to bolster regional housing
(Minister Champion, 5 May 2023)

Advocates for Key Workers asked to cooperate on regional housing needs
(Minister Champion, 26 March 2023)

Government fast-tracks housing for 300 workers in regional South Australia
(Minister Champion, 24 February 2023)

LGA welcomes State Government action on regional housing
(LGA, 17 February 2023)

Office for Regional Housing established to increase investment in country areas
(Renewal SA, 16 February 2023)

More homes for regional South Australia
(Premier Malinauskas, 16 February 2023)

More information

Should you require further information, including alternative ways to provide feedback or interpreter assistance, please phone us on (08) 8207 1300 or email renewalsa.enquiries@sa.gov.au

Photo credits:
Mount Gambier: South Australian Tourism Commission
Renmark: South Australian Tourism Commission/Adam Bruzzone

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