Image: Kristian Bandy, Rachel Kling, Jess Bunning and Cheryl Smith at the Summit.
Last month, the Department of Communities (Communities) co-hosted WA's first Aboriginal Community Housing Organisation (ACHO) Sector Strengthening Summit with Shelter WA and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Housing Association (NATSIHA).
The two-day Summit was part of the ACHO Sector Strengthening Project being funded by Communities and delivered by Shelter WA to identify and map the ACHO sector and support capacity and network-building of ACHOs.
Held at the Burswood on Swan, the Summit was attended by 37 representatives from 23 ACHOs collectively servicing every region in WA. Some attendees were financially assisted by Communities to take part, which contributed to the high turnout of participants.
This was the first time ACHOs from WA's regional and remote areas had come together to discuss priorities for their sector, including establishing a WA ACHO Strategy and a dedicated, independent ACHO Peak Body to build capacity and grow the sector across WA.
The Summit commenced with a Welcome to Country by Daniel and Johnny Garlett, welcoming attendees to Whadjuk Noongar Boodja with their beautiful performance on the Derbarl Yerrigan.
Opening addresses were made by Summit facilitator Justin Noel, Managing Director of Noongar Mia Mia and WA Representative on Board of NATSIHA Tina Ugle and CEO of Shelter WA Kath Snell. This was followed by workshops allowing ACHOs to discuss the key challenges and shared principles for the sector.
Principal Policy Officer Dr Jess Bunning delivered a presentation on behalf of Communities, providing an overview of the opportunities for strengthening the ACHO sector in WA in partnership with Government.
Jess said that the World Café event held in the afternoon involved various teams within Communities hosting sessions on Community Housing Registration, Housing Policy, the Remote Maintenance Contract Review, the Remote Communities Fund and the North-West Aboriginal Housing Fund.
Image: Attendees at the World Café session.
'Both Communities staff and ACHOs found these sessions very useful for building positive relationships and engagement for progressing opportunities for the ACHO sector,' Jess said.
Communities' Assistant Director General Aboriginal Outcomes Cheryl Smith opened the evening Networking Event where ACHOs were joined by key stakeholders and decision makers across Government, including Communities, the Department of Health, Justice, Water Corporation, Horizon Power and Infrastructure WA.
The second day of the Summit focused on the potential development of an Aboriginal housing peak body in WA and key learnings from other state and territories in becoming a peak body. This involved an initial panel discussion with Aboriginal housing peak body leaders from other states, including CEO of ACHIA NSW Lisa Sampson, CEO of Aboriginal Housing Northern Territory Skye Thompson and COO of NATSIHA Rob Macfarlane, which kick-started discussions between ACHOs in break-out sessions on next steps for developing the sector in WA. The day concluded with the CEO of NATSIHA Ivan Simon presenting on the history of NATSIHA and their role in supporting other ACHOs across Australia.
'The Summit generated a lot of enthusiasm and interest from ACHOs to continue the collaboration achieved over the two days and build on the connection and support for ACHOs to increase representation and development of the sector,' said Jess.
'This milestone Summit event has laid the foundations for Communities to continue working with ACHOs and Shelter WA to support ACHOs becoming registered as tiered community housing providers and co-design policy options to grow the ACHO sector and improve appropriate, not overcrowded, housing outcomes for Aboriginal Western Australians.'
The draft WA ACHO Strategy is currently out with the community for feedback and, once finalised, will inform the WA Government's implementation of the Closing the Gap Housing Sector Strengthening Plan, providing a high-level roadmap to guide capacity building and growth of the ACHO sector for the next 10 years.
