Strong Communities.
Creating better futures
Annual
Report
2023-2024
Strong Communities.
Creating better futures
Annual
Report
2023-2024
Strong Communities.
Creating better futures
Annual Report
2023-2024
Message from the
Chair Damien Tangey
The past year for Haven Home Safe has been one of action as we strategically respond to the economic, societal and environmental challenges facing our sector and take proactive measures to ensure our resilience as an organisation.
Through the development of our long-term Strategy 2040, HHS has devised a roadmap to navigate current and emerging challenges whilst innovating for the future to continue to deliver impactful outcomes for a growing client base.
Message From the Chair Damien Tangey
The Board recognises that we must continue to evolve our role in community housing to serve Haven Home Safe clients and our organisation long into the future.
In a challenging funding environment, we are focused on managing risk and making considered decisions, prioritising outcomes over outputs. We remain diligent in supporting the organisation to meet compliance and regulatory requirements at a high standard and continually consider best practice pathways to further strengthen our client outcomes.
This year Haven Home Safe received feedback as one of the ‘highest performing agencies in the state’ from the Housing Registrar following our performance assessment. This feedback indicates that we are continuing to serve clients whilst testing necessary change.
HHS’ enduring commitment to work with values-aligned partners continues to deliver results and accolades. The Property Development Team’s ‘Property Team of the Year’ award from the Property Council of Australia is recognition of our ability to amplify our impact with new ecosystems of partners.
The early adoption of the Community Housing Industry Association ESG framework and the delivery of Haven Home Safe’s first ESG+ Impact report is a testament of the organisation’s ongoing commitment to be accountable and transparent through embedded business practices and investment decisions that improve the environment and community around us and reflect our strong governance approach.
Ensuring Haven Home Safe delivers services, support and outcomes that place clients at the core continues to be a focus of the Board. We thank the staff for their unwavering commitment to supporting clients and for their work helping shape the future of the organisation through the development of new values, their commitment toward reconciliation and contributions to the benchmark HHS client voice framework.
We also recognise and thank our clients for their valuable participation in voice and partnering in innovation and change.
We thank CEO Trudi Ray for her leadership and steadfast dedication towards challenging the status quo to deliver housing equality and outcomes for people throughout the communities in which we work. Trudi continues to demonstrate strength in delivering Strategy 2040 through an openness to partnerships and collaboration and exploring innovative ideas to bring to the Victorian housing landscape. This has been undertaken working in conjunction with former Group CEO Andrew Cairns who retired from that role on 30 June 2024. The Board recognises the substantial contribution
that Andrew has made to both strategy and delivery for Haven Home Safe.
I would also like to acknowledge our industry partners, including our funding partners in the Victorian and Federal governments. Programs such as Big Housing Build have been significant for Haven Home Safe and we still have over 150 new homes in the pipeline for delivery, with over a quarter of these due to be completed and tenanted for families before Christmas 2024.
As we move through the 2024-25 financial year, we will continue to enhance our decision making framework and critical thinking to work with partners to assist us in amplifying our impact through partnership and community led solutions. The future is looking busy for Haven Home Safe with the strategy and action guiding the organisations next steps and ensuring a laser focus on what’s most important – increasing the supply of housing across the continuum to allow more choice and appropriate options for clients.
Message from the
CEO Trudi Ray
In a year characterised by declining housing affordability, the community housing and homelessness sector has seen a significant increase in the number of people seeking help.
Haven Home Safe has responded to these challenges with Strategy 2040, an ambitious roadmap to create more housing options to meet the growing and unique needs of clients and investing in areas where we can have a positive client impact.
Our 2040 strategic priorities to deliver on our refreshed vision of better futures for all Victorians are structured around three areas of impact – impactful housing and support, impactful partnerships and capacity for impact.
Our frontline staff continue to navigate increasing numbers of people overwhelmed by the cost-of-living and working tirelessly to support people experiencing homelessness.
Message From the CEO Trudi Ray
The people we see are often facing complex challenges, and for them a home isn’t just shelter, it’s a foundation for safety and security.
People are likely to experience homelessness because they have difficulties securing long-term accommodation, are affected by poverty and the lack of housing options. Throughout all this, our teams continue to bring empathy and determination through their commitment to our clients, working alongside them to help make a difference to their lives. I sincerely thank them and their collective impact.
Despite the challenging environment we are in, there is also an enormous amount to be proud of.
With First Nations people disproportionately impacted by the housing crisis, this year we focused on delivering the actions in our Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). We are taking steps to understand what is needed for reconciliation, including cultural competency, listening, learning and connecting with First Nations people and organisations. After a reflection period to understand what we can improve on, we have now commenced developing our Innovate RAP and will continuously seek to be bold and brave in our actions.
This year we delivered the final tranche of housing funded by Homes Victoria’s Big Housing Build bringing much needed security for clients, and we have a further 152 homes in the pipeline at various stages of completion. The next 6 months will see 43 of these homes ready for tenanting. In recognition of this incredible work, our Development Team were awarded Property Council of Australia’s ‘Team of the Year’, a testament to the accomplishments of this team in delivering more quality community housing for Victorians.
As well as delivering on existing programs of funding, we continued to explore innovative avenues to bring more housing supply for Victorians.
Partnering with urban planning experts HATCH, we prepared a research report on the potential of small second homes, otherwise known as In My Backyard (IMBYs), to play a part in solving the housing crisis.
We are proud to be one of the first Community Housing Providers to adopt the Community Housing Industry Association’s ESG reporting standard, releasing Haven Home Safe’s First ESG+ Impact Report. Adopting the ESG reporting standard showcases the value we deliver as an organisation, keeps us accountable to our commitments and highlights opportunities to both improve and embrace innovation to remain a leader in the sector.
Internally, our staff members were actively involved in deciding on a new set of organisational values that best reflected what’s important to all of us – inclusion and belonging, collective impact, empowering leadership and changing lives.
These values are an essential part of our organisation, guiding our interactions with each other, our clients and partners, shaping our decision-making and influencing our approach to work, no matter how challenging the environment becomes.
We would like to thank the Board for their strong governance, oversight and strategic guidance and support throughout the opportunities, challenges and changes from this past year.
We would like to thank our partners and key stakeholders for their unwavering support, collaboration and trust. Together we can achieve more and with a mindset of outcomes over ownership we can realise greater impact for the clients we work with.
Looking to the year ahead we will see a shift with some programs coming to the end of their funding lifecycle and leadership changes in line with our Strategy 2040. This has included Andrew Cairns moving from his role as Group CEO into a strategic consultancy role for Haven Home Safe.
I would like to thank and recognise Andrew for all he has done and achieved with HHS over the past 3 years. He has guided the organisation through enormous amounts of change and played a key role in developing Strategy 2040. I look forward to continuing to work with him in his new capacity as a trusted advisor supporting our work to find innovative solutions to the housing crisis.
I believe that Strategy 2040 coupled with the dedication and passion of our staff will put Haven Home Safe in a position of strength and preparedness to answer the calls for homelessness support and housing supply coming from our communities in 2024-25 and the years to come.
Strategy 2040
Our roadmap for a better future
In November 2023 Haven Home Safe celebrated the launch of Strategy 2040 alongside sector friends, colleagues and partners.
At the launch, CEO Trudi Ray encapsulated the driver for developing Strategy 2040: “the world we live and work in is changing. 2040 will look significantly different to today. Therefore, we are deliberately shifting our strategy to be relevant and ready for the future.”
The strategy focuses on three areas of impact: housing and support, impactful partnerships, and capacity for impact. A key focus is creating more housing access and options for people throughout the housing continuum, from crisis to community to market driven, to meet people’s diverse and changing needs.
Haven Home Safe’s Strategy 2040 delivers a key message of collaboration, driving meaningful changes and delivering benefits and impact to the people that we support.
Strategy 2040 also delivered a refreshed purpose, vision and commitment for Haven Home Safe.
Our purpose
Everyone deserves a home
Our vision
Better futures
Our commitment
To make a difference through housing, support and community connection
Our impact areas
Impactful housing and support
We will deliver housing and support that sustains people’s wellbeing within their community:
- Placemaking to enhance liveabilty
- People-centred approach
- Housing solutions across the continuum
Impactful partnerships
We will partner to create meaningful change:
- Deep understanding of community needs
- Focus on homelessness prevention
- Impactful and mutually beneficial relationships
Capacity for impact
We will do things better so we can make a difference:
- Invest in new solutions
- Deliver collective impact
- A fit-for-purpose organisation
- Outcome over ownership
- Anticipate and adapt to changes in society and the environment
Strategy 2040
2024-25 priorities: Live well 2025-29
Impactful housing and support
- Strengthen tenancy, maintenance and asset management
- People-centred approach Client Voice framework
- Placemaking framework
- Regional urbanisation opportunities Developments in regional towns
- Housing solutions across the continuum Different types of housing for people
Capacity for impact
- Navigate cost of living pressures
- Strengthen culture Including work to KPI's and culture workplan
- Invest in digital uplift Such as Kypera replacement and Employment Hero
- Invest in new solutions Like modular housing
- Collective impact ESG+ Impact reporting
- Outcome over ownership Partnering for client outcomes
- Anticipate and adapt to change Research what the future looks like
Impactful partnerships
- Deep understanding of community needs Community-led solutions
- Focus on homelessness prevention Data to inform how we do things
- Invest in mutually beneficial partnerships Such as partnering with Aboriginal Community- Controlled Organisations
Committing to a better future through ESG+ Impact
In November 2023, HHS launched its inaugural ESG+ Impact Report, adopting the Community Housing Industry Association’s ESG reporting standard.
This was the result of an intensive 9 month process, partnering with external impact experts, Think Impact, to develop an environmental, social, governance and client impact (ESG+ Impact) assessment framework and integrating the criteria into our reporting approach. The ESG+ Impact Assessment Tool supports considered decision-making on future investments, ensuring the work we do generates the impacts we expect for clients, as well as considering broader society and our environmental footprint.
Additionally, we undertook a materiality assessment involving stakeholder engagement to understand topics we should report on based on their applicability and substantiveness on our performance and ability to have an impact. Thirteen material topics were mapped to report against which are detailed below against the Community Housing Industry Association (CHIA) reporting standards, where we have focused our efforts and our plans to improve upon this in the future.
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THEMES
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MATERIAL TOPIC
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DESCRIPTION
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AREA OF FOCUS
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CHIA STANDARD
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PEOPLE BENEFITS
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IMPROVEMENT OPPORTUNITIES
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Environmental
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Building and maintaining suitable housing
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Suitable housing that meets the needs of clients, is comfortable and affordable to live in and provides opportunities for clients to improve wellbeing and connection with local community.
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Climate change Ecology Resource management Managing biodiversity
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C1: Housing design standards C8: Green space and biodiversity C9: Pollutant management C12: Water management C18: Up to date gas checks C19: Up to date fire risk assessments
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Clients Communities Investors
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Understanding the energy efficiency of our older housing stock. Improve the performance of our portfolio over time including considerations of material and product selection, energy and water efficiency, waste generation and management.
|
|
Environmental
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Managing building and household waste
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Influencing the types of wastes produced and how waste is managed during construction and through our procurement processes.
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Waste management processes
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C11: CHO policy on waste management
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Residents Staff Communities
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Identify opportunities to reduce waste and influence how it is managed.
|
|
Environmental and Governance
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Influencing a more sustainable supply chain
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Creating social and environmental value through our supply chain and procurement practices.
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Supply chain Procurement
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C10: Policy on sourcing materials C29: Modern Slavery Statement C41: How ESG factors are considered during procurement.
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Communities Staff Suppliers
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Updating our procurement processes and developing a Sustainable Procurement Policy.
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Environmental
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Transitioning to a low carbon future
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The housing we own and operate today and build in the future will contribute to a low carbon future.
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Greenhouse gas emissions Energy efficiency actions Renewables Solar
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C2: Profile of GHG emissions C3: Energy efficiency actions and related savings C4: Energy efficiency and renewables C5: Solar
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Residents Communities Investors
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Understanding our greenhouse gas emissions across our housing portfolio and through our operations. Identify other energy efficiency improvements. Understanding the level of energy poverty among residents and support required.
|
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Environmental
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Building climate change resilience
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People are supported to increase their resilience to the impacts of climate change.
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Emergency preparedness and risk mitigation.
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C6: Climate risk mitigation actions
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Residents Staff Communities Investors
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Improved education and advice for residents about climate risk mitigation.
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|
Social and Environmental
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Long-term client wellbeing
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People have long-term wellbeing through quality, suitable housing that meets their needs, is comfortable and affordable to live in and enables access to the services they need.
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Client voice Resident satisfaction Complaints handling Support for access to services Accountability Connection to nature Resident information to support bill management Impact measurement
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C7: Provision of environmental guidance for residents C8: Green space and biodiversity C16: Tenant support for energy bill management C17: Distribution of rental homes by tenure C20: Accountability for service provision C21: Resident satisfaction C22: Complaints handling C23: Direct third-party provision of resident support services
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Residents
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Develop a HHS Client Voice Framework. Increased education and support for energy bill management. Investigate options to incorporate First Nations stories, value and culture in our placemaking, design and landscaping.
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Social
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Positive placemaking
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People have a sense of belonging through the safety of their home, connection with their local communities, access to green spaces and thriving neighbourhoods.
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Placemaking framework
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C24: CHO engagement with placemaking activities
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Residents Communities
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Roll out placemaking to all new multi-unit developments.
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Governance
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Reconciliation and cultural safety
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Raising cultural awareness to become reconciliation ready.
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Adopting and rolling out a Reconciliation Action Plan. Embedding a 10-step program to build the practices of non-indigenous peoples, histories and cultures in Australia to be in reconciliation.
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C39: Adoption of a Reconciliation Action Plan
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Communities Clients Staff
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Deliver an Innovate RAP. Support meaningful reconciliation under the principle of shared sovereignty.
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Governance
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Sustaining an engaged workforce
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Improved employee wellbeing, productivity and retention.
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Staff wellbeing support Employee engagement and retention Learning and development
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C37: Staff wellbeing support C38: Average staff turnover
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Staff
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Increased focus on OH&S Centreing wellbeing Enhanced L&D program
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|
Governance
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Diversity and equity
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HHS’ culture values diversity and is a place where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.
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Gender pay gap Creating safe, empowering and inclusive environments at work.
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C36: Gender pay-gap
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Staff Communities
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DEI survey results and actions Maintain zero gender pay gap
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Governance
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Maintaining a capable and diverse Board
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Our Board and Executive structure meets the needs of clients and addresses regulatory requirements.
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Board structure, governance and effectiveness
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C27: Turnover of Board members and Executive Team C30: Board diversity
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Staff Clients Communities Investors
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Increase diversity of Board.
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Placemaking
A resident-led community
The placemaking approach at Epping has moved into its next phase of empowering and supporting residents to strengthen their community.
Community pantry supports for one another
At the beginning of 2024, Epping residents approached Haven Home Safe with the idea of running a community pantry. With the cost-of-living crisis escalating, it was important to residents that all people in their neighbourhood had access to affordable food. Supported through the Haven Home Safe Community Engagement team, collectively they found pantry partners and produce. The residents took on the responsibility of going out to each of the stores to collect the donated goods.
Donations included fresh fruit and vegetables, canned food, pasta, rice, lentils, nappies, shaving cream, sanitiser, pink salmon, chips, bread, chocolates and much more. Since their first pantry, the resident’s group have run an additional five sessions, supporting 191 families to put fresh food in the fridge, pantry and on the table.
Thank you to all the Epping Pantry Partners who make this possible – Woolworths in Kalkallo, Encompass Care, The Gibbs Family Bakehouse and From us 2 U.
Exploring new career opportunities
The Epping resident community identified that residents were looking for training, education and employment opportunities to further their careers.
Haven Home Safe’s Community Engagement team partnered with The Department of Employment and Workforce Relations (DEWR) and the local council to co-deliver a training and employment event.
The event was attended by the following partner organisations and residents:
- The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR)
- City of Whittlesea Council
- Whittlesea Community Connections
- Himilo Community Connect
- Jesuit Social Services
- Melbourne Polytechnic
- Two Square Pegs.
HHS placemaking approach nationally recognised
At the 2023 PowerHousing Australia National Awards, Haven Home Safe were announced as the winners of the Tenant Engagement and Social Inclusion Award for the placemaking activities at Epping.
It was a privilege to be recognised in a room full of industry peers representing many other organisations that are doing amazing work to help people have a safe, affordable and secure place to call home. Haven Home Safe is grateful to the staff who actively embraced community engagement to make sure that renters feel included, engaged, and empowered to organise their own events and common interest groups.
Festive fun at
Smythe Place
The Geelong Tenancy and Community Engagement teams hosted an end of year celebration with the residents living at Smythe Place (Geelong).
The celebration included all the trimmings – delicious food, Christmas bon-bons, a Christmas tree and lovely company around the table.
The event provided an opportunity for Haven Home Safe to build on our placemaking and engagement activities with residents and a chance to connect with one another. It was also wonderful to see residents getting to know their neighbours better.
Tenancy
A place to call home
Haven Home Safe believes that everyone deserves a home regardless of their circumstances. The dedicated team of tenancy and property managers work tirelessly to find homes for our clients, manage the move in process and provide tailored tenancy support to over 2,000 households. Residents will often share the positive impact that having a safe, secure and affordable place to call home has on their mental health, wellbeing and social connection.
HHS homes
Property breakdown by size
Haven Home Safe residents
With some households having more than one resident registered with HHS, here is a snapshot of the people who are Haven Home Safe residents.
Gender
*Does not account for non-binary renters
Disability
renters identify as having a disability
Homelessness
renters were experiencing homelessness before they moved in
First Nations
renters identify as First Nation people – this is 16.6% of HHS owned properties
Age of residents
Client Care
Supporting people when they need it most
For over 6,300 people this year Haven Home Safe’s Client Care staff members were the first people they connected with when seeking support due to homelessness, housing or financial crisis. Staff aim to support individuals in addressing their immediate needs and linking with resources to help them get back on their feet.
Delivering support
through client care
Intake Assessment Planning (IAP)
This is often the first contact a client will have with Haven Home Safe. Through an Initial Assessment and Planning (IAP) appointment staff learn more about clients and work to understand their housing needs. From this they can advise the most appropriate and available accommodation and support options.
Number of IAP clients supported:
Client story:
Thomas has his own rental to recover in
Haven Home Safe’s (HHS) Intake and Assessment Planning (IAP) team was connected with Thomas* through a worker at the local hospital. Thomas had been admitted to hospital and had very limited mobility, he had found himself homeless after receiving a notice to vacate his private rental.
Finding appropriate accommodation for Thomas after being released from hospital was difficult due to his mobility limitations. All avenues such as a caravan park or rooming house were explored but not suitable. Finally, HHS and St Vincent De Paul were able to secure some temporary emergency accommodation for Thomas.
Thomas had to sleep rough during the extremely cold weather but was also successful in gaining a tenancy through Ray White Heathcote. Unfortunately, he was not able to get the keys for his new home until after an upcoming scheduled surgery.
To help Thomas prepare for surgery, additional crisis accommodation was able to be found. He was able to get the keys for his new rental property upon discharge from hospital.
Haven Home Safe supported Thomas to access PRAP funding helping him set up his home and some vouchers provided for bedding and food. Thomas was very happy to be recovering from his surgery in his own safe and secure home.
Number of support periods
delivered by region
RSAP AO
Bendigo Supports
RSAP AO Swan Hill supports
Rough Sleeper Assistance
Program (RSAP)
Through the RSAP Haven Home Safe staff provide support to people who are sleeping rough. This service is available for both people who are sleeping rough and for those who are concerned about someone who is sleeping rough.
The assertive outreach (AO) vehicles carry basic foods and essential items and stop at several known locations across Bendigo and Swan Hill. Staff offer clients social connection, supplies such as food and bedding and assist them to connect with other supports or services.
Client story:
Bill is happy to be giving back
When the Haven Home Safe’s Rough Sleeping (RSAP) team met Bill* he was homeless and sleeping in his car. Bill was over 70 years old and had limited literacy which made applying for rental properties impossible.
He was reluctant to ask his family for help as he was embarrassed about his situation.
The RSAP team introduced Bill to a social dinner club and helped him to apply for private rental properties. He was eventually able to secure a rental property, with Haven Home Safe able to help him pay his bond and some rent in advance. Since securing his own home, Bill has been able to stay there and recently had his lease renewed. He is also now happily giving back as a valued volunteer at the social dinner club.
Emergency Relief (ER)
This is short term financial aid to help people meet their immediate needs in times of crisis.
It’s designed to provide support to people who are experiencing financial distress or hardship.
ER is federal funding with a broad application. It can be used to purchase food vouchers, assist with bills, household items, back to school costs, and assistance in times of an emergency such as floods or fires.
Housing Establishment Fund (HEF)
HEF is used to support clients with relocation or establishing housing costs and it can also be used to help people with temporary emergency accommodation.
Private Rental Assistance Program Funding (PRAP)
PRAP delivers one-off financial assistance payments to help people who are temporarily unable to meet their rental costs. Included: PRAP- Bendigo, Mallee.
Client story:
PRAP provides a safe new start
Clare* is a single mum who was living in an emotionally abusive environment which was having a negative toll on both her and her children.
Clare was having trouble securing a private rental to help them escape their living situation. With support from a Haven Home Safe case worker, Clare was able to successfully secure a rental property but had no furniture or access to enough money to afford the upfront costs of the bond payment.
Through the Private Rental Assistance Program (PRAP) Haven Home Safe was able to assist Clare with bond, rent in advance and some essential furniture items and white goods to help her get settled and set up their home.
Clare was very grateful for all the support and assistance they were able to receive, allowing her to escape an unsafe situation. Clare and her children are now extremely happy in their new home.
Engagement and support services helping people access and sustain housing
Haven Home Safe delivers a series of programs primarily across Northern Victoria to help people access and sustain housing.
These programs:
- deliver intensive and tailored supports to connect clients with housing
- connect clients with specialist providers they may need to sustain their tenancy.
Client story:
Ageing with security (HSAP)
In 2023 Peter* and Alison* moved to Bendigo to be closer to their family and to have better access to medical care due to Peter’s declining health. Over the past 5 years they experienced episodes of homelessness due to ongoing chronic health conditions.
Aged in their 60s, Peter and Alison were unable to find safe and secure housing when they came through Haven Home Safe’s Intake and Assessment Planning (IAP) program.
They were couch-surfing and staying between family and friends. Sadly this time saw them subjected to verbal and financial abuse.
Through IAP they were referred to Haven Home Safe’s Housing Support for Aged Program (HSAP). Here they were linked with appropriate additional supports and were assisted to submit applications for public and social housing options.
During this time, Alison became a full-time career for Peter after his lower leg was amputated.
Their housing applications were finally successful with the couple gaining a 2-bedroom unit that also had the appropriate disability modifications for Peter. After moving into their new home, Alison said gaining their own home has been “a life changing event, it’s the happiest we’ve been in two years.”
Alison and Peter are still supported by the HSAP to retain their tenancy as independently as possible and maintain their physical health through assistance with medical appointments.
Success stories
To celebrate at Sidney Myer Haven
Sidney Myer Haven (SMH) is a residential complex in Bendigo which offers stable, affordable housing for individuals and families through a wrap-around support model for its residents called ‘Shared Futures’. People who come to live at SMH have often disconnected with their friends, family and community. Everyday tasks and life milestones (such as undertaking study) can be daunting and inconceivable. The ‘Shared Futures’ program helps residents to set goals and incrementally work toward these. Here are just a few of the outcomes we celebrated this past year as residents work towards achieving their goals.
A past resident has bought their own house
(a total of 3 former SMH residents have now gone on to own their own home)
4 residents have exited the program into secure long-term housing
2 healthy babies born
(the parents also have parenting supports in place)
3 children have started daycare
1 resident started work in community services
2 residents are planning on studying at TAFE
Production of 2 songs that have been released on Spotify
1 resident is getting their Learners' permit and getting hours up through the L To P program
Keeping women and children safe
The Exit Pathways program provides a rental pathway for women and women with children who have experienced family violence. It is delivered by HHS in Victoria’s Barwon and Metro regions and this year we supported 62 families to move from temporary, emergency or refuge accommodation into private rental properties.
Client story:
Alice’s first rental property
When Alice* was referred to the Exit Pathways Program (EPP) she was living in a women’s refuge with her young child and newborn baby. She had escaped a 13 year-long environment of family violence.
Alice had proactively applied for over 50 rental properties, advocating for herself and the support she had through the Exit Pathways Program. Although empathetic, real estate agents were not progressing her past the application stage.
Our staff advocated to the real estate agents, highlighting the benefits of the EPP and the resilience of the women in it.
The trust and relationships built between HHS and the real estate agents coupled with Alice’s determination helped her to secure her very own rental property.
For the first time in her life, Alice has her name on a lease agreement.
Alice’s child is now enjoying school, and her baby has settled into a routine. Now settled into stable and secure housing Alice is actively seeking employment, is ahead of her rental payments and is very house-proud!
As a victim survivor Alice is slowly rebuilding her confidence and is proud of what she has achieved for her children by giving them a fresh start.
Maintenance and assets
Investing in our homes
Haven Home Safe has over 2,000 rental properties (both owned and managed) under our care. The maintenance and asset teams work around the clock to ensure all renters have homes that are safe, compliant and meet their needs. This work also means the longevity of our properties is preserved.
Maintenance and repair year in review
Non-Urgent Repairs
Vacated Repairs
Cyclical Repairs
A year in the life of our asset team
Asset inspections
Property upgrades
Onboard new properties
Processed property modification requests
Raised fire compliance rectification works
Working with 96 different Owners Corporations across our diverse housing portfolio
Development
Innovation and collaboration delivering more homes
We continue to deliver quality social and affordable housing for the community that is well located, thoughtfully built, innovative and environmentally friendly. In a challenging construction environment, we have continued to deliver outcomes this year.
units delivered in Bendigo
dwellings in the pipeline and under construction
Partnerships
Partnering to achieve progress
Everyone at Haven Home Safe knows that to truly work towards delivering better futures this work cannot be done alone. Across all aspects of the organisation, progress is achieved by working closely with other experts and leaning on shared knowledge. By working collaboratively, the very best outcomes can be achieved for clients and the wider community.
Case study:
Partnering to reimagine a better future for housing
Haven Home Safe has partnered with the global engineering and project management firm, Hatch, to reimagine solutions to the housing crisis.
As part of our Strategy 2040 priority to increase the supply of housing, we conducted research with Hatch looking into the potential for building small second homes, following the Victorian State Government’s Housing Statement which eased restrictions on permits for second dwellings.
From this way of thinking the concept of ‘IMBY’ (In My Back Yard) modular homes has emerged as an exciting opportunity, offering an effective and efficient solution to deliver housing to the growing cohort of single adults experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity – particularly women over the age of 55.
These homes can be constructed using modular building technology delivering high-quality architectural and environmentally friendly housing in less than 12 months.
Haven Home Safe has assessed its current housing stock and identified over 50 sites where an IMBY could deliver an additional housing outcome. The next phase of this concept is to find a funding partner to invest in our pilot project so we can showcase how IMBYs can be a valued asset class within the continuum, increasing stock and infill at a lower cost and with speed to market.
The HHS and Hatch partnership has also worked on how we can apply the global concept of 20-minute neighbourhoods to places where there is a significant lack of affordable housing. 20-minute neighbourhoods deliver walkable urbanism and places that offer residents communal areas such as parks, community centres and remote working hubs as well as access to nature which boosts community wellbeing and safety. Haven Home Safe considers these factors when developing new social and affordable housing to ensure successful, connected communities with access to transport, health, retail, education and employment nearby. HHS CEO Trudi Ray shared some of these insights at a UDIA event, saying, “Creating a liveable neighbourhood is about embracing diversity of housing to meet people’s needs at various stages of their lives, catering for all socio-economic groups and ensuring people are connected with their community.”
Haven Home Safe looks forward to continuing to work with Hatch to challenge the status quo and explore new ways to tackle the housing crisis facing Victoria.