Executives from Australia’s largest provider of co-operative housing were in Shepparton on Tuesday to explore expansion of its portfolio in the area.
Common Equity Housing Ltd managing director Liz Thomas and co-op services general manager Alyce Holmes hosted a luncheon with members of Shepparton’s three established co-operatives to discuss future direction at The Parklake.
Contrary to common belief, co-operative housing is different to public housing.
“It’s a different way of managing private rentals, rather than in social housing or public housing, it’s quite different,” Ms Thomas said.
“The rate of home ownership in Australia is 63 per cent and falling.
“About five per cent of Australians live in public housing and the rest live in private rental and co-operative housing; we’re a rental housing co-operative, so it actually fits within that private rental market.”
CEHL owns around 2000 properties in Victoria, which are managed by about 100 different co-operatives.
In Shepparton, it owns 56 properties that are managed by three independent co-operatives, with the largest taking care of 20 properties and the smallest, 14.
The co-operatives manage their housing, carry out maintenance, select tenants, keep the accounts in order and perform property and compliance inspections.
CEHL manages and develops the portfolio of housing stock that was initially transferred from the government.
“With the Housing Australia Future Fund and the Victoria Government’s Big Housing Build, the turnaround times for applications for funding is somewhere between eight and 10 weeks,” Ms Thomas said.
“With a consulting and partnership model, we can’t decide that for the co-ops without negotiating that first, so part of today is being ready.
“We know that part of that funding will come to regional Victoria, so we need to have a plan that the members have already agreed to and be good to go with the paperwork.
“Today’s really about keeping those discussions progressing about where the development opportunities are for our existing co-ops within Shepparton.
“Some people want to downsize, some people want to upsize; what’s that going to look like across the Shepparton region?”
Co-operative housing is not a new concept to Shepparton, with its first housing co-operative established in 1989.
Each co-operative is its own registered small business, so the partnership they have with CEHL is a business-to-business relationship.
“We’ve been delighted with the response we’ve had from this visit to Shepparton,” Ms Thomas said.
“There’s so much interest in co-operative housing at the moment, I really can’t keep up.
“In order to support the development of more co-op communities, not just within co-ops, but the genuine interest in co-op living and how it can be expanded across Victoria and Australia, the more people we have understand it, the better.
“Co-ops are in the DNA of Shepparton with the fruit production plants and things like that; they’ve been here for a long time.
“Rural co-ops function really well because in regional communities, people come together and work as part of how they do business, and they live for community.”
Ms Thomas and Ms Holmes met with Federal Member for Nicholls Sam Birrell during the morning to tour properties.
The pair met with council in the afternoon to try to persuade it to include co-operative housing in its Affordable Housing Strategy in the interests of land, development and partnership opportunities.
“If we can start to get the Shepparton council to understand that you have three thriving, really healthy co-ops in Shepparton already then they will get invited to participate in those discussions on an ongoing basis,” Ms Thomas said.
CEHL’s core purpose is to deliver long-term, affordable co-operative housing solutions for Victorians.
A recent member-led project for the organisation found that co-op members benefited from secure and affordable housing, housing suited to their needs, the development of new skills and the formation of friendships and connections within their co-op communities.