Housing centres in Broome, Newman and Roebourne receive grant from Department of Communities for refurbishment

Four community housing centres in the North West have received grants to help refurbish housing for dwellings servicing Aboriginal people. The grants are part of the Department of Communities’ social housing economic recovery package and will see a total of $57,531,017 in grant funding for 47 community housing providers to undertake 805 refurbishment projects. These include people with disability, young people who experience homelessness, seniors, and women and children escaping domestic violence. In the North West, four providers were awarded more than $3m in funding. Broome Community Housing Group received $2,308,347, while Roebourne’s Mawarnkarra Health Service and Yaandina Community Services were granted $497,909 and $94,934 respectively. The Newman Women’s Shelter was awarded $500,000. Housing Minister John Carey said working closely with community housing providers would help provide safe and secure housing for vulnerable community members. “My top priority as the Minister for Housing has been to expand the available stock of social housing but one of the key challenges we face is an ageing stock,” he said. “Grant programs like this are absolutely critical because they allow us to improve existing homes, and ensure they remain in the system.” All refurbishment projects need to be completed by December 2024.