The challenges with Specialist Disability Housing (SDA) are large, according to NDIS Minister Stuart Robert. Speaking to F2L after opening the ACCESS 2019 Conference in Sydney, the minister confirmed it could take from five to seven years to build the amount of accommodation needed.
“We need to house 15,000 people and not just where they are now, but where they want to be, and this is going to be difficult because we have to build housing that is going to work as an investment. And there has to be a long term commitment from the government, which there is.”
He said banks have the view that it will take several years for a return on investment and so questions arise. “Will there be participants in there that long, how many houses are being built or will we get to the point where there is a glut in the market down the track?
“However, we are hearing the right notes from everyone involved including the SDA Reference Group and Design Standards that are being released soon which are very good. There are also some big financial firms entering the market, probably led by Macquarie. I think we are shaping up well and progressing well, as long as I can protect the edges from spruikers where I will intervene very hard if necessary.”
A biennial event, ACCESS is the only national conference and exhibition dealing with access to and within the built environment. It presents products and services to professional access consultants, designers, building certifiers and facilitators of major construction and infrastructure projects, both private and public.
For more details from the ministers speech go to the following story.
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