• Are you of First Nations descent and living in a Southern Cross Housing property?
  • Do you have an experience of additional occupants in your home or just want to share your thoughts with us?
  • If you answered yes to these questions, then we want to hear from you!

In 2021, the National Agreement on Closing the Gap was updated to include “Housing” among its 16 key national socio-economic targets to improve life outcomes for First Nations Peoples. The housing target is based on the outcome that, “First Nations Peoples can secure appropriate, affordable housing that is aligned with their priorities and need” and states that by 2031, 88% of First Nations People will be living in appropriately sized (not overcrowded) housing.

As one of the largest community housing providers to First Nations Peoples in NSW, Southern Cross Housing (SCH) is committed to working with our tenant community and the NSW State Government to address the housing disparities faced by First Nations Peoples. This year, we are contributing to the Closing the Gap initiative by developing a comprehensive research report that explores additional occupancy within First Nations SCH tenancies.

Broadly, our Communities Assist Team is seeking to identify the causes, examine the protective & risk factors associated with additional occupancy and find ways to improve housing outcomes for all our First Nations tenants.

SCH recognises that First Nations Peoples are the experts of their own experience and for us to share in and learn from that knowledge, we are extending an invitation to participate in our study to our whole First Nations tenant community.

  • We’re doing a mixture of surveys & interviews. Each session should go for between 30min – 1hour.
  • Everything you tell us will be kept completely private
  • We’re providing complete confidentiality to all tenants for anything you tell us as a part of this study. That means you won’t get in trouble for anything you tell us about additional occupants in your home
  • We appreciate your time and input and to show it, we’ll be paying $20 for every person who completes our surveys & interviews
  • Follow-up support will be available for any person who needs it. This can be a sensitive topic and we want to ensure our tenants are looked after

If you’d like to take part in this important project that will contribute to Closing the Gap on Housing for all First Nations Peoples, please contact Mitch from the Communities Assist Team on 1300 757 885 or mitchellh@scch.org.au or fill out an expression of interest by following this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SQ3GPD5