June 10, 2025
Handover from Wendy to Karen Walsh as CHIA’s interim CEO
You would all be aware that Wendy Hayhurst’s last day as CEO of CHIA was on Friday 30th
May 2025. The accolades, thanks and recognition of Wendy’s remarkable achievements,
leadership and influence for the community housing sector demonstrate the indelible mark
Wendy has left, and acknowledgement of her efforts and the solid relationships she has built
and maintained across diverse stakeholders and industries.
My three-week intensive handover with Wendy was extremely valuable, providing me with
deeper insights of the CHIA partnership initiatives and stakeholder relationships, and the
extent of CHIA’s reach. Further to Wendy’s last Bulletin, I’m pleased to report that we met with
key senior Government officials including Treasury, Housing Australia, DSS and DVA.
This engagement included starting to explore future working arrangements and identifying key
and new relationships, given the machinery of Government changes, with Housing,
Homelessness, planning, building and construction policy all within Treasury. We had a fruitful
meeting with Josh Burns, Special Envoy for Social Housing and Homelessness and identified
ideas about how CHIA and members might optimise engagement with him in this role.
There is much inquiry and interest by Government in CHIA’s strategic initiatives and on
continued collaborations and consultation to influence and shape housing related policy and
programs.
I look forward to talking and meeting with CHIA members and providing (and receiving)
support where needed. Thank you to all the members for your engagement and continued
support.
My email is karen.walsh@communityhousing.com.au and mobile 0413 432 718.
Opportunity to co-design a consultative forum with national peak
bodies on Regulation.
I have been invited to participate in this Peaks consultation process. Earlier this year,
Registrars from all states and territories, agreed to explore options for national consultation as
an alternative to the Regulatory Advisory Group, given the role and scope of that group had
become unclear.
Registrars from the NRSCH, Victoria and Western Australia are now seeking an opportunity
to engage with national peak bodies to develop an alternative model to maximise the
effectiveness of national consultation. I will be attending the first meeting scheduled for
July/August and will ensure that the body of evidence and previous work led by CHIA with
members on this matter informs this consultation.
Housing for People with a Disability Pre-Summit Day held in
February at CHIA’s Summit in Feb 2025 – Write Up attached
A Housing for People with a Disability Pre-Summit Day was held on 19 February 2025,
preceding CHIA’s Annual Affordable Housing Development and Investment Summit.
Facilitated by Gemma Pinnell, Principal at Right Lane Consulting, the event brought together
leaders and experts in disability housing to discuss the current state of housing for people with
disability in Australia and strategies to enhance access to quality, needs-based housing.
Keynote speaker Rosemary Kayess, Disability Discrimination Commissioner and Vice Chair
of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, provided valuable
insights. The event also featured best practice case studies and discussions on practical
solutions.
This detailed summary document attached was prepared by Right Lane Consulting and
includes valuable insights from participants and recommendations for policy and local action.
Notice from Q Shelter re ROI from Economic Development
Queensland (EDQ)
Q Shelter wants to let Community Housing Providers (CHPs) know about the following exciting
opportunity. Economic Development Queensland (EDQ) has opened a Registrations of
Interest (ROI) process for two distinct opportunities in Meadowbrook, Queensland:
1. Opportunity 1, open to eligible CHPs, involves acquiring 0.48ha to develop social and
affordable housing with government support available.
2. Opportunity 2 involves purchasing up to 3ha of residential-enabled land for future
development.
EDQ will seek to appoint either a single Proponent for both opportunities or separate
Proponents for each, depending on the outcomes of a subsequent Request for Proposal (RFP)
process. There are more details available on the EDQ flyer at this link.
Registration is free and submissions close 5:00pm AEST Friday 13 June 2025. After
completing the ROI, eligible participants will be invited to participate in the RFP process, which
will provide detailed information about the opportunity.
Submit your interest through the ROI form using this link.
If you have any initial questions you can contact the Q Shelter Team
Commonwealth Rent Assistance in Australia: quarterly data
The AIHW Released its Quarterly Report on CRA on 5th June 2025 and provides insights into
the number and characteristics of recipients across Australia, including State and Territory
breakdown, household composition and demographics.
