Housing for older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Canberrans

In 2016, Housing ACT built its first purpose-built public housing complex for older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders called Mura Gunya, which means 'Pathway to Home' in the Ngunnawal language. Mura Gunya came about after it was recognised that there was a need for specific, culturally appropriate, independent housing suitable for the elderly in the community.

Ulverstone Street, Lyons

Housing ACT is proposing to replace the four ageing 3-bedroom dwellings located at 23-29 Ulverstone Street in Lyons, with a view to develop up to six Class C Adaptable houses on the site for older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Canberrans. This is part of the ongoing commitment to revitalise the public housing portfolio and ensure that social housing options are available for indigenous communities.

Housing ACT is proposing to construct up to 6 new dwellings, built to Class C Adaptable standards. These new dwellings will be purpose-built for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander older people, ensuring that cultural connections are considered in the planning of the new development. A mix of 2 and 3 bedroom homes is being considered.

Each new home will comprise individual garaging and private outdoor space, with driveway access off Ulverstone Street. There are a number of large trees on the site which will be retained where possible.

The proposed development is in close proximity to local shops, health services and public transport options available along Launceston Street and in the Woden Town Centre.

The accessibility of the site and opportunities for tenants to walk to the nearby shops, transport and other essential services will provide people with the opportunity to get involved and participate in their local community.

All houses will be built to Adaptable standards which ensures that people of all abilities can live within the home and it can be easily adapted to meet changing household needs without requiring costly or substantial modifications. The houses will be built to a 6 star energy efficiency rating which means that it will be cheaper to run.

Our commitment

Housing ACT is committed to providing public housing across Canberra, to build communities that are diverse and vibrant that enable people to achieve positive social and economic outcomes.

We are committed to collaborating with the community, to build neighbourhoods that are inclusive and welcoming, that offer safe and affordable housing to those who need it most.

What we do and why

Housing ACT provides tenants with safe, affordable and appropriate housing in a sustainable social environment. We provide housing to those Canberrans most in need including people in extreme financial hardship who are unable to find accommodation elsewhere.

Public housing makes up about 8% of all housing in the ACT.

• 25% is located in Belconnen
• 18% is located in Woden and the inner south
• 23% is located in the inner north
• 21% is located in Tuggeranong

Shape and scale of the Development

New developments will be modern, energy efficient and include a mix of sizes to suit different tenant requirements, including properties that can be adapted in the future, to enable tenants to age in place.

The buildings will be built to a 6 star energy efficiency rating which means they will be cheaper to run.

A variety of materials and building features will be used, along with existing vegetation to blend the development into the streetscape. The scale and form of the new houses will be in scale with the neighbouring buildings.

Who are our tenants?

Public housing tenants include a broad range of people including a high proportion of older people (approximately 26% are aged over 65 years), women (64%), as well as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and people with disability (63% of our tenants access the disability support pension).

Approximately 75% of our tenants live in single person or single parent households. About 27% of our tenants are children under the age of 15 years.

Some of our tenants stay in public housing for only a short period of time, until they can ‘get back on their feet’. Others stay in public housing longer-term.

The range of our tenants means that the housing we provide needs to be diverse to meet the needs of different people. We provide family homes, single-person apartments, accessible housing and housing that is close to essential services such as medical services and public transport.

Building better housing

Redeveloping our properties allows us to ensure that safe, affordable and secure housing is made available for vulnerable Canberrans who need it – now – and into the future.

More than 70% of our housing stock was built before the 1990’s, therefore building new public housing and redeveloping existing public housing allows us to replace older stock with modern, more contemporary designed buildings with improved energy efficiency.

It enables us to apply a ‘salt and pepper’ approach to development to reduce concentrations of disadvantage, and build well-designed dwellings that look and feel like other housing in the neighbourhood.

Delivering public housing close to essential services helps to ensure that the varied support needs of tenants can be accommodated and it is an important step in supporting some of our community’s most vulnerable people.

Housing ACT looks to the following principles when designing new public housing:

• Quality design – consistent with the existing and future character of the suburb
• Transparent, honest and open communication with the surrounding tenants and community.
• Liveable design – a more flexible, easy to access and navigate, liveable space, designed to have a positive impact on tenants and the neighbourhood
• Design that enhances the streetscape
• Design that aims to promote a sense of pride for tenants, harnessing a supportive community for both the tenants and the wider community, ensuring that tenants feel safe and comfortable within the new housing development