Meet the new ahi: President, Sean Kelly

As the calendar flips to 2024, the ahi: welcomes a new President for a volunteer tenure of four years. For those who don’t already know Sean Kelly, or would like to know him better, here’s his story along with his ambitions for the Institute in both Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.

There’s a sense in which incoming ahi: President Sean Kelly is carrying on a family tradition by working in housing. Like many in the industry, Sean didn’t have any definite plans to enter the sector professionally in his younger days, but the universe, as it so often does, had other ideas.

“Both of my parents worked in housing, and I think that's probably why it wasn't a career of choice for me,” he explains. “My Dad was a senior housing officer in West Belfast in Northern Ireland, and West Belfast in the ‘80s was pretty crazy. I'd hear stories about the things that happened and I'd think, ‘I don't want to be doing anything close to that’!”

“So, I studied business at university and, when I finished and moved back to Ireland, I needed some work. My Mum saw a job at the Housing Executive, as they called it over there, and I threw an application in. I got a job as a clerical officer answering the phones on the maintenance desk back in 2002, and I loved it! Some of the work that I was doing was just so interesting. I never had the same day.”

“Weirdly enough,” he continues, “my first boss was at my Mum and Dad’s wedding in the late ‘70s. I was just thinking about this before speaking with you; I was wondering if there's a picture of him at my baptism because it wouldn't have been that far away,” he laughs.

As well as eventually following his parents into the housing sector, the extended Kelly family experienced firsthand the value of social and community housing in the communities they’ve served across the decades.

"Did I want to do this? Probably not when I was little. Do I love doing it? Absolutely."

“I've got aunts and uncles who live in Housing Executive properties and social housing properties. My Mum currently lives in a community housing property, so community housing has been a key part of my life either directly or indirectly. Did I want to do this? Probably not when I was little. Do I love doing it? Absolutely.”

On reflection, the time Sean spent working and living in London was a life-defining experience.

“I worked in Notting Hill, which people think is really affluent—and parts of it are—but there's a lot of poverty there as well. I worked in North Kensington, what used to be called the North Kensington Estate, just off Portobello Road. It had people who arrived in that area in the ‘50s from the Caribbean, people who’d arrived from the Horn of Africa in the ‘90s, and people from India and Pakistan. It was such a cultural melting pot.”

“Seeing these people every day and building up a relationship with them over a number of years was such a wonderful experience that really helped shape my desire to work in something that's beyond the house, the community. How do we build those communities with social housing? How do we get people secure housing? How do we make a community sustainable, desirable?”

While doing the hard yards during the day, his evenings were spent enjoying London’s nightlife and ‘cultural’ activities that defined Tony Blair’s Britain in the ‘90s. As he candidly concedes, “You’re in your early to mid-20s, living in a city like London… I mean, what's not to like? You can see so much, there was so much to do and experience.”

Away from home himself, although not exactly saddled with the tyranny of distance, most of Sean’s social circle were 20-somethings backpacking their way through England and Europe, and making the most of what comes with travelling the world. It was also how he met his now wife and found his way to Australian shores.

“I played rugby for a club in London where most of its playing group were made up of people who weren't from London. We had a lot of Kiwis, a lot of Aussies, South Africans and a couple of Irish fellows,” he details. “Even the English players weren’t from London – they were from the north of England or the west country or somewhere outside of London. So, we sort of became our own family at that point.”

"I hung around with the Australians a lot; they have a very similar mentality, [and] sense of humour [to the Irish]."

“I hung around with the Australians a lot; they have a very similar mentality, [and] sense of humour [to the Irish],” he laughs. “And circulating in this group, I ended up meeting an Australian lady who appeared to be the only one without a European passport, so she had to head back home. I followed her on a working holiday visa in 2006 and haven't gone back.”

In stepping into the role of ahi: President, Sean’s effusive in his praise for the achievements of his predecessor, Jamie Muchall: “The work that Jamie did in the last couple of years has been absolutely outstanding, and he's put us in a really good position financially and culturally. I think, as an organisation, we've got a really good culture, and I want to maintain that and build on that.”

Sean is also focused on understanding what ahi: members need from the organisation through sustained engagement. He’s passionate about defining the organisation as the voice, not of the housing industry but for the professionals who work in it.

“We are not a community housing industry association – we're not CHIA. We are a membership organisation for the people who work in social and affordable housing,” he emphatically states. “And we have a voice in that discussion around how we do what we do – not necessarily around how government programs are funded or set up, but how do we, as individuals and as professionals, respond to the changing policy landscape.”

For the ahi: in Australia, Sean forecasts the Housing Accord, the Housing Affordability Future Fund and different state and territory government strategies as having a big impact. For Aotearoa New Zealand members, the change of government in New Zealand will also have enormous ramifications.

“How can the ahi: support delivering their social and affordable housing? What does that look like, and how do we support our members into delivering the best outcomes for the people that live in the houses that we look after?”

Sean goes on to say the ahi: needs to be seen as an authoritative voice within the range of professional bodies. He talks about working with architects, urban planners, the urban development Institutes, Master Builders and finance as all being of paramount importance: “We need them to work with us to deliver the things that we need to deliver.”

"Working across sectors in those allied and aligned industries is something I think we'll need to be focusing on over the next couple of years."

“We can be fantastic tenancy managers, and property managers, and asset managers, but if we're not working with architects and finance people and planners and builders and developers, then we're not going to be able to achieve all the things that we want to achieve,” he expounds. “So, working across sectors in those allied and aligned industries is something I think we'll need to be focusing on over the next couple of years.”

Sean also believes that how housing workers respond to new programs and changes will be another major challenge across the industry: “Obviously, in Australia, we’re responding to the Housing Australia Future Fund, and the various state and territory programs that are out there but, as I mentioned before, the work that will be happening in New Zealand with the change of government means the housing industry will need to respond to that.”

“In New Zealand, the Nationals traditionally focus more on investment into community housing rather than public housing, acknowledging they target broadly the same cohort of people – but what does that mean for our community housing members? Our members are employed by community housing organisations in New Zealand and how do they respond to that? And, if we overlay those questions with the cultural housing solution that we will need to start to drive through – whether that's in New Zealand, in the Northern Territory and central Australia as well – where you're 11 hours’ drive and 700 kilometres from the nearest significant large town, those are really challenging areas to deliver housing in.”

“Having worked across regional and metropolitan areas in big cities, while there are some commonalities in them, they’re very different scenarios and very different environments to deliver housing into. So, it's up to us at the ahi: to support that as best we can.”

With an influx of around 50,000 homes slated for delivery in Australia in the coming years, Sean believes it’s important for the ahi: to continue advocating for the industry, and to welcome new member organisations without – as he describes it – “losing the sense of what makes the ahi: what it is.”

“We have to make sure we’re able to support our members as individuals and also support our members' employers to make sure they're recruiting and training people in the skills they need to deliver on the housing needed across Australia and across New Zealand. So, for me, that's the biggest challenge our industry faces as a whole.”

With all these challenges looming on the horizon, Sean credits the support of his colleagues and family as integral in enabling him to fulfil his role as ahi: President.

“The amount of support you need to do this kind of work is immense. I really do love what I do. I'm really, really fortunate and I'm really lucky that I work in an industry of passionate people who also love what they do, but we just wouldn't be able to do it without our friends and family. It's a hard enough job to do but, if you don't have that support at home, it's an impossible job to do. So yeah, for me, the support that I get from them is everything.”

“We really do some brilliant work, and I love the career that I've had, and I love the job that I do. I want to bring that to as many people as I can,” Sean concludes. “There are jobs that have impacts on people's lives, and I'm not smart enough to do a lot of them. I'm not smart enough to be a doctor, I'm not smart enough to be a lawyer necessarily, but to do a job where you have such an impact on people's lives is a real privilege.”

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Brighter Future Awards nominations now open!!

February 14, 2025

It is with great pleasure that we announce nominations are now open for the ahi: 2025 Brighter Future Awards .

Submission in response to the Draft NSW Homelessness Strategy 2025 - 2035

February 14, 2025

About the Australasian Housing Institute The Australasian Housing Institute (ahi) is a professional body for workers in the social and affordable housing and Specialist Homelessness Service (SHS) sectors across Australia and New Zealand. It has Branch Committees in each state and territory, as well as in New Zealand. The ahi is submitting a response to the Draft NSW Homelessness Strategy (the Strategy), representing the collective feedback of the NSW Branch Committee, with the support of the entire ahi organization. With over 2,000 members across NSW, ahi members work in both government and non-government housing organizations. The ahi has a long history of collaborating with SHS, Specialist Disability Services, and other mainstream services, including health, education, and local councils. For the past 25 years, ahi has been proudly delivering training for industry housing professionals across a wide range of areas, including tenancy management, asset management, and governance. The ahi also hosts masterclasses and networking events to support its members. The ahi provides professional development to the workforce through: Training and knowledge-building on a range of issues relevant to social housing professionals, from induction programs for new workers to advanced and specialized training in areas such as asset management, trauma-informed approaches with applicants and tenants, personal development, and community participation. A mentoring program that pairs experienced professionals with newer or younger members to help them achieve their career aspirations and goals. A certification program for social housing professionals to uphold professional standards and ensure success in their area of expertise. Leading the Annual Brighter Future Awards, which recognize excellence in the social housing industry. Promoting active, engaged, and connected membership through the delivery of topical events, seminars, webinars, masterclasses, and more. As a member-based professional body, the ahi is uniquely positioned to build trust, enhance skills, and foster relationships across both the government and non-government sectors, as well as between organizations. Summary The ahi congratulates the NSW Government on its significant investment of $6.6 billion in the 2024 budget, aimed at tackling the unprecedented housing stress and the rising numbers of individuals experiencing homelessness driven by the ongoing rental crisis in both the private rental and social housing sectors. The Strategy for 2025-2035 is highly commendable, with its three core goals—rare, brief, and non-repeated—standing out as ambitious and impactful objectives aimed at addressing homelessness. These goals are set to bring about significant changes in the social housing system and provide a clear policy framework to guide efforts toward achieving meaningful outcomes over the next decade. The ahi recognizes the importance of this Strategy and the critical role that the social and affordable rental housing system plays in meeting these goals, emphasizing the need for genuine, whole-of-government collaboration in delivering results. This approach involves collaboration across government, the not-for-profit community housing sector, and mainstream services, all supported by SHS’s within a Housing First framework and guided by a clear governance structure. It marks a shift from a deficit-driven perspective to a solution-focused, positive approach. The success of this transformation relies on collective efforts through co-design, co-evaluation, and co-delivery, ensuring the long-term effectiveness of the change. For this paradigm shift to succeed, it will require a skilled, committed, and dedicated workforce, as outlined in Principle 8 (The Workforce is Strong and Capable). Recognizing the need for a sustained, locally connected workforce is crucial to addressing the diverse needs of individuals experiencing homelessness across all three phases of their journey. In its feedback on the Strategy, the ahi emphasizes the importance of focused attention on homelessness and social housing workforce planning, professional development, industry support, and the need for culturally competent workers—both paid and voluntary—who bring diversity, inclusion skills, and lived experience. Finally, the ahi urges that Principle 8, which highlights the strength and capability of the workforce, be prioritized, particularly in supporting First Nations people experiencing housing stress and homelessness, with a long-term vision extending beyond the next 10 years. Detailed response The following is more a detailed response from the ahi to the questions outlined in the consultation paper for the Strategy. SECTION 1: The Guiding Principles of the Strategy 1. What do we need to consider as we implement services and system reform guided by these principles (total 9) over the next 10 years? As we implement services and system reform guided by these principles over the next 10 years, the ahi suggests the following approaches be prioritized: Workforce planning should be a key focus in the first rolling action plan (2025-2027), with an emphasis on forecasting the ongoing skills and competency needs throughout the life of The Strategy. This will ensure the workforce is equipped to meet evolving demands. Increasing the supply of dwellings to address crisis, transition, and permanent housing needs must be matched by a parallel increase in the workforce. This includes expanding both paid employees and volunteers within social housing, community housing organizations, and Specialist Homelessness Services (SHS). A well-supported workforce is essential to ensuring the successful and sustainable delivery of outcomes envisioned by the Strategy. Skilling workers who assist First Nations people experiencing homelessness should be prioritised. This requires a culturally competent workforce at all levels to provide high-quality services and ensure that First Nations people do not experience repeated homelessness. By focusing on cultural competence, we can foster better outcomes and long-term stability for these communities. 2. Which Principle should be prioritized and why? The ahi fully supports all nine Principles, with particular emphasis on Principle 8: Workforce is Strong and Capable, as being foundational. Addressing homelessness is a person-centered solution that requires culturally competent employees and volunteers who can establish strong, supportive networks with wraparound services at the local community level. This is essential to meeting the evolving needs and remains a high priority in the First Action Plan (2025-2027). Ongoing professional development for workers is crucial to ensuring long-term success in meeting the changing social, economic, and environmental needs of those living in quality housing. It is also vital for ensuring tenants not only live well but stay connected to their communities. Supporting the workforce’s safety and wellness is key to maintaining a capable, resilient workforce, which in turn ensures the best possible quality of housing, management, and support for tenants. SECTION 2: Strategy focus areas: 1. To make homelessness rare, what should NSW prioritise for action and why? The ahi believes that adequate funding for SHS’s is essential to ensure they are properly resourced to assist individuals at risk of or in a crisis state of homelessness at the point of need. The ability to identify risks and allocate resources effectively for intake assessments and service coordination is key to early intervention and prevention. A triage system is vital for facilitating positive outcomes, aiming to make homelessness a one-off experience. The ahi also supports dedicated funding for staff training and development in this field, recognizing its importance in preventing homelessness from becoming a long-term issue. Investing in training allows for timely and appropriate interventions, helping to break the cycle of homelessness early on. 2. What opportunities and risks are there for implementing actions under this outcome? Delaying action in assisting individuals experiencing homelessness can lead to a loss of faith and hope in the NSW housing system, pushing them toward the justice system or, in the case of older people or women escaping domestic violence, even premature death. Implementing this outcome presents an opportunity to build a culturally competent, and trauma-informed workforce, a key factor to transforming lives while simultaneously increasing the supply of housing. Supporting a resilient workforce, where high job satisfaction is fostered, creates committed and effective workers who can make a lasting difference. 3. What types (s) would be most useful to measure our impact and why? A key target in the First Action Plan (2025-2027) is to reduce the number of people on the social housing waitlist during the reporting period. This measure will serve as an indicator of success and validate the effectiveness of early intervention policies in preventing homelessness. Additionally, setting targets for the number of employees and volunteers in the social housing and SHS sectors, as well as tracking turnover rates, is essential to assessing the success of building a stronger, more capable workforce. 4. To make homelessness brief, what should NSW Priorities for action & why? Domestic violence, family abuse, and coercive control are major causes of homelessness among women, with the number of homeless women and children increasing according to the latest data. Adequate funding for this vulnerable group is a top priority. Supporting these women has a profound impact on their recovery, resilience, and ability to raise their children, leading to positive generational outcomes in the long term. The rising trend of older women experiencing homelessness for the first time also requires early intervention to prevent premature death. 5. What opportunity and risks are there for implementing actions under this outcome? The continued trend of women dying as a result of domestic violence and family abuse is deeply concerning. In 2024, 14 older women aged 55 and over were killed, a distressing statistic according to the Commissioner for Domestic and Family Violence, Michaela Cronin. These women are at a higher risk of vulnerability, often with no support systems to rely on. Implementing actions under this outcome presents a crucial opportunity to save lives, reduce the number of women experiencing both domestic violence and homelessness, and help them rebuild their lives. 6. What types of target(s) would be useful for measuring our impact and why? Reducing the number of women who die as a result of domestic violence and family abuse during the First Action Plan (2025-2027) is an important metric to track and report, demonstrating the efficacy of The Strategy. Individual success stories are powerful testimonies that show the goals of the Strategy are benefiting both individuals and the housing system. The skills required for employees and volunteers in this area demand dedicated funding and training resources. Implementing a measure to evaluate the outcomes of training courses would be valuable, helping to refine and improve the content and application of these programs. 7. To ensure homelessness is not repeated, what should NSW prioritize for action and why? First Nations people are overrepresented in experiencing homelessness and face significant challenges in breaking the cycle. Priority should be given to this group under the Housing First Principle, supported by skilled and capable staff and volunteers, to empower them and prevent repeat homelessness. Rental tenancy laws in NSW should be reviewed, particularly regarding the cessation of tenancy due to prolonged absences. Cultural customs related to death and bereavement (Sorry Business) should be recognised as acceptable reasons for absences and incorporated into tenancy policies. 8. What opportunities and risks are there in implementing actions under this outcome? The risk of not achieving the goals outlined in the National Agreement on Closing the Gap for the NSW Government is significant if priority is not given to properly housing and supporting First Nations people. There are valuable opportunities in collaborating with Aboriginal leaders through a co-design, co-evaluation, and co-delivery approach. Their collective commitment to improving the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people can lead to positive outcomes in housing, health, education, employment, justice, safety, and inclusion. 9. What types of target(s) would be most useful to measure the impact and why? Increase the number of Aboriginal workers with certified qualifications across various areas of the Aboriginal housing sector. Aboriginal tenants depend on highly qualified and culturally competent workers and volunteers to help build their resilience and prevent repeated homelessness. Regular customer satisfaction surveys should be conducted to measure tenants’ satisfaction levels and identify areas of strength and improvement. Conclusion The ahi supports an ambitious supply growth program throughout the life of the Strategy to address homelessness in NSW. With 63,260 households (based on 2023-2024 data) currently on the waiting list, it is crucial to reduce this number over the next 10 years through the rolling action plans. Successfully delivering the Strategy will require a skilled, trauma-informed, and competent workforce to implement an integrated housing system. While workforce planning is mentioned as one of the nine principles, its lack of detailed planning is concerning. The ahi strongly suggests that the principles of co-design, co-evaluation, and co-delivery be incorporated from the outset in developing the rolling action plans. The ahi thanks the NSW Government for the opportunity to submit feedback and for its ongoing consideration of building a strong and capable workforce that is recognised and supported by a broad range of industries. The value of including people with lived experience and their unique knowledge and skills cannot be overlooked as an essential voice in this transformative process. Contact NSW Branch Committee - Australasian Housing Institute admin@housinginstitute.org www.theahi.com.au (02) 6494 7566 Date submitted: 11/2/25 Submitted to: Homelessness.strategy@homes.nsw.gov.au

Appointment of new auditor

October 24, 2024

Australasian Housing Institute (the Company) wishes to announce that effective from today, 24th October 2024, Accounting & Audit Solutions Bendigo (AASB) has been appointed as auditor of the Company. The change of auditor has occurred due to the resignation of Kelly Partners (Sydney) as the company’s auditor. The company received approval from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to change its auditors in accordance with section 329(6) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). Accordingly, the Company has accepted the resignation of Kelly Partners (Sydney). AASB’s appointment is effective until the next Annual General Meeting of the Company. In accordance with section 327C of the Corporations Act, a resolution will be put to members at the 2025 Annual General Meeting to appoint AASB as the Company’s ongoing auditor.