Update from the Office for Regional Housing

If you missed the media coverage, read on below for detail on the innovative partnership we’ve formed with Tatiara District Council to get a new housing development underway in Bordertown.

We will soon be appointing builders in Mount Gambier, Renmark, Port Augusta and Moonta Bay to deliver the first houses across the regions, and we are currently out to tender for the construction of houses on land recently secured in Kadina.

And, as South Australia prepares to move into the ‘Hydrogen Age’, the Office for Regional Housing has been working closely with key stakeholders in the Upper Spencer Gulf to ensure that land and accommodation is secured for the workforce required to deliver the large-scale projects proposed for the region.

Regards,

Matt Hunt
Director, Office for Regional Housing

Bordertown joins the Regional Key Worker Housing Scheme

Business is booming in Bordertown, the largest town in the Tatiara in the state’s upper-south-east, but the town is also considered by many to exemplify South Australia’s regional housing crisis.

Bordertown was recently named as a finalist for the 2023 SA Agricultural Town of the Year Awards. This article from InDaily paints a good picture of the breadth of its industry and development.

Unfortunately, as is all too common across the state, housing has not kept up with population growth and economic opportunity. Rental vacancy rates at near zero levels have persisted for decades in the regions, significantly hindering the growth potential of local businesses as employers have struggled to find homes for new workers.

Some of these local businesses have worked to try to address these challenges, including the recent purchase by the local meat processing plant JBS of a local motel to provide short term housing for its migrant workforce. Several others have purchased or built houses for their staff. But the shortage of housing, particularly rentals, remains critical.

The shortage of available rental housing also impacts the ability of state government agencies to attract and retain the workforce required to provide essential services in the area, with the Tatiara nominated as a priority area for additional government employee housing for education and health services.

The Tatiara District Council has been one of the most active regional councils in the state in its attempts to address its housing supply issues. They have done this by:

• preparing and communicating data driven evidence of the nature and scale of undersupply and the impact on economic growth potential.
• undertaking small scale direct development to provide workforce accommodation.
• engaging strongly with local businesses to better understand not only their needs but also their capacity or commitment to participate and/or invest in new housing initiatives.
• partnering with neighbouring councils to explore opportunities to increase scale and take a regional approach to housing development and federal funding.
• partnering with community housing providers to facilitate investment in new housing in Bordertown.

One of the biggest impediments to the council’s ability to directly address housing issues in Bordertown has been a lack of council owned land suitable for housing development. To address this, the council recently purchased a 5.8-hectare land parcel in the north-west corner of the town from a private vendor, with the explicit intention to develop the site for new housing.

As the Premier announced at the recent local Country Cabinet meeting in Bordertown, the Office for Regional Housing has been working on a proposal with Tatiara District Council, that will see up to 60 residential allotments created on the land recently purchased by the council, with civil works planned to commence next year, approximately 15 new houses will be built in stage one of the development. At least five of these will be for essential state government workers under the expanded Regional Key Worker Housing Scheme. Additional house and land packages can be acquired by local businesses and investors using an aggregated demand model, so all parties benefit from economies of scale and a single, simplified delivery model.

We believe that key elements of this project could form the basis of a similar model that could be applied to other regions across the State and look forward to finding those opportunities.

Renewal SA wishes to acknowledge the recent tragic passing of Brevet Sergeant Jason Doig and the impact this has had on the community in and around Bordertown and Lucindale.
As an organisation and as individuals, we extend our condolences to all impacted, and offer our ongoing gratitude to those people who serve our communities.

Development updates

The Copper Coast has been another area of focus for the Office where, again, the rental market just hasn’t kept up with demand. We’ve now secured land for four much-needed new houses in Moonta Bay for teachers and have undertaken a tender process to appoint a building partner.

We aim to have a builder in place to start construction early next year, with the first tenants expected to move into the two-and-three-bedroom homes by mid-2025.

This is in addition to a string of tenders undertaken over the past few months for developments in Mount Gambier (4 houses), Renmark (5 houses) and Port Augusta (4 houses). We look forward to announcing the successful builders for each of these projects shortly and commencing construction in the new year.

We have also secured land in Kadina for another five houses. A tender process to lock in a builder is currently open. Builders are invited to tender through www.tenders.sa.gov.au until 23 January 2024.

We are excited at the prospect of seeing work commence on building sites in early 2024 and critical workers moving into their new homes from early 2025.

Builders interested in working with us on future projects and keen to be first to hear about opportunities, including for the construction of houses in Ceduna, Kadina and now Bordertown, can register their interest via a new online Registrations of Interest portal on the Renewal SA website.

Housing the Hydrogen Future in Whyalla

The Upper Spencer Gulf is preparing for a hydrogen-fuelled economic boom, centred in Whyalla, with billions of dollars' worth of government and private sector projects either committed or proposed over the coming years.

On 7 November, the state government announced a partnership with the City of Whyalla to develop a master plan for the ‘Steel City’ in preparation for its proposed transformation into the nation’s hydrogen capital.

$100,000 will be invested to develop the master plan that will guide and usher the city into its next era of growth, centred around clean energy production.

In conjunction with the master planning for the City of Whyalla, led by the Department of Trade and Investment’s Planning and Land Use Services (DTI PLUS), the Office for Regional Housing will play a key role in ensuring that suitable land is made available in strategic locations to facilitate the urgent need for more housing and town amenities.

In the immediate term, land is required to support the accommodation needs of the large workforce that will deliver major committed projects such as the state government’s Hydrogen Jobs Plan and the transition of the Liberty Steelworks to the production of green steel.

As more projects come online and the city’s population grows, it is projected the need for temporary housing units in Whyalla, such as worker villages and cabin parks, will swell into the thousands. There will also be a growing need for new permanent housing to accommodate the ongoing workforce once the projects are completed.

In addition to housing, the city will also require supportive social infrastructure and well-planned civic spaces to provide the quality of life needed to attract and retain a skilled workforce in a globally competitive market.

Renewal SA is working collaboratively with DTI PLUS, the Office for Hydrogen Power SA, the Department of Environment and Water’s Crown Lands Unit, Whyalla City Council and other key stakeholders to ensure sites secured for development are strategically located and appropriately serviced.

In the news…

Tender open for local builders in Renmark for the construction of five new houses
(Renewal SA, 7 November 2023)

Local builders are being called on to tender for the construction of four new houses in Port Augusta
(Renewal SA, 7 November 2023)

Building tenders open for construction of new homes in Mount Gambier
(Renewal SA, 7 November 2023)

Land secured for Regional Key Worker Housing on the Copper Coast
(Renewal SA, 7 November 2023)

Innovative new cross-government partnership delivers much-needed housing development in Bordertown
(Renewal SA, 27 October 2023)

Renewal SA releases new Strategic Plan 2023-2026, including regional development commitments
(Renewal SA, 11 October 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

OFFICIAL