Posts Categorized: News

BHC Impact Fund providing much needed support to residents during the cost-of-living crisis

As many Queenslanders struggle with housing instability and escalating living costs, BHC is proud to have delivered support to over 400 of its residents from BHC’s Impact Fund, outlined in the organisation’s 2023/24 Impact Report.

The Impact Fund provided crucial support to 421 residents over the last financial year to assist them to sustain their tenancies, improve their health wellbeing, enhance employment skills and foster cohesive communities.

Each year, BHC commits a minimum of $150,000 to the Impact Fund, fuelled by the profits from its ‘profit for purpose’ real estate agency, Elevate Residential.

The real estate agency generates revenue from property sales commissions and property management fees, with 100% of profits being donated to BHC.

(more…)

Project Announcement: Northshore Hamilton

We are thrilled to announce that BHC was selected as the preferred provider to deliver 201 social and affordable homes at Northshore Hamilton. Northshore Hamilton is Queensland’s largest waterfront urban renewal project and a 5-star green star precinct. This project is part of a larger development to provide approximately 1,300 additional homes in the precinct, supporting the Queensland Government’s Homes for Queenslanders Plan.

“We are honoured to be part of this transformative project and look forward to working closely with EDQ and other stakeholders to bring this vision to life,” said BHC CEO Rebecca Oelkers.

Stay tuned for more updates as we continue on this exciting journey to provide more homes for Queenslanders.

Please see the Queensland Government media statement for further information on this project.

Project Announcement: Nerang Street, Southport

We are pleased to announce our Nerang Street, Southport development – our next project to be delivered by the BHC-QIC Consortium with the support of the Queensland Government’s $2 billion Housing Investment Fund.

The vision for this architecturally designed development is to create a well-located, diverse community of residents as part of the growing Southport CBD precinct. Delivering 158 new social and affordable homes, this project will provide low-income frontline workers and households seeking assistance through the State’s social housing register access to long-term, affordable rental housing.

This project forms part of the 1,200 dwellings that will be delivered by the BHC-QIC Consortium across South-East Queensland.

For more information about this and our other upcoming developments. please visit the New Development page of our website.

Project Announcement: Sunshine Coast

BHC is excited to announce our new Sunshine Coast project, located in Birtinya. This project, which is set to progress through the Queensland Government’s Ministerial Infrastructure Designation (MID) process, is BHC’s first project on the Sunshine Coast, as well as the first affordable housing project on the Sunshine Coast to use the MID process.

We are thrilled to be delivering this 90-unit affordable housing project, which will provide much needed housing for frontline workers in the surrounding areas, including the Sunshine Coast Health Precinct and Birtinya Town Centre.

“We know that the housing affordability crisis is forcing frontline workers out of urban and city centres, leading to critical shortages in essential professions. When workers can’t afford to live where they work, it disrupts the very fabric and functioning of our communities.

“We are proud to provide housing that supports these vital members of our society,” – Rebecca Oelkers, BHC CEO.

For more information about this and our other upcoming developments, please visit our New Developments page on our website.

BHC Wins Inaugural Property Council Team Award

We are excited to announce our team responsible for spearheading the increase in affordable community housing supply across South-East Queensland – the BHC Development Team – has been recognised as ‘Team of the Year’ by the Property Council of Australia’s Queensland branch.

Led by Projects Director Greta Egerton, the team was celebrated at the 2024 inaugural People in Property awards in Brisbane, which recognised their efforts in creating the largest pipeline of work in BHC’s history.

This team has been instrumental in developing more than 1,800 homes for low-income residents over the last 20 years.  Their hard work continues as our development pipeline scales up this year, with 290 homes currently under construction across four projects.

This dedicated team of 12 was also integral to the establishment of BHC’s groundbreaking institutional investment model in partnership with Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) to deliver a successful bid for the Queensland Government’s Housing Investment Fund, which will deliver 1,200 new social and affordable homes across SEQ.  This is the most ambitious pipeline delivered by a Community Housing Provider in Queensland’s history and we are proud they have been recognised by the industry.

BHC’s Chief Executive Officer Rebecca Oelkers said the team had an unwavering commitment to creating much needed housing stock for vulnerable Queenslanders.

“Some members of the team have served the sector for more than 15 years, seeing first-hand the benefits that safe and secure housing can have on generations of families and communities.

“They are at the heart of the sector’s continuous push for viable housing solutions that can be developed affordably and sustainably to meet the ever-increasing demand from households that are pushed out of the private rental market.”

 

Bridging the digital divide

Part of our mission at BHC is supporting our residents and communities to thrive.

We know firsthand that not having access to digital tools and technologies can hinder opportunities for our residents to participate fully in employment, volunteer, education and social inclusion opportunities.

Our Resident Participation and Employment Coordinator, Anthony Campbell, has seen firsthand the impact that providing a resident with a laptop has had on their lives.

“We often see people in our community facing challenges when it comes to finding work and staying connected. For those who don’t have access to things like laptops, it’s even harder to create resumes, search for jobs, participate in online and virtual interviews and keep in touch with others who provide online health and wellbeing support. Something as simple as giving someone access to their own laptop can really change their situation for the better,” said Anthony.

black and white photo of two men.

BHC resident with BHC’s Resident Participation and Employment Coordinator, Anthony.

 

If your corporation regularly updates its technologies, please consider giving back by donating your old workable laptops to BHC. Your contribution not only extends the life of your technology, reducing landfill waste, but can also change lives.

“In today’s society, having access to digital technology is critical for participating in modern life. We’re dedicated to doing everything within our power to help residents in this regard. Collaborating with partners will unlock opportunities for our residents and help in closing the digital divide” commented BHC CEO, Rebecca Oelkers.

Reach out to BHC’s Community Development team on connect@bhcl.com.au to explore how your business can make a meaningful difference in the lives of our community’s most vulnerable members.

Statement by Rebecca Oelkers – Chief Executive Officer, BHC

Tanya Lee Glover’s death has had a profound impact on BHC.

Our residents are the reason we exist and providing secure and affordable homes for society’s most vulnerable people drives our purpose for creating better housing outcomes.

Some of our residents come to us with complex needs that may include disability, a history of trauma or domestic violence, mental and physical health conditions, or challenges associated with drug and alcohol abuse.

Community housing is often their only safety net and, as a provider, these are the very real challenges we deal with.

We care deeply for the safety and wellbeing of our residents and provide compassionate tenancy management that extends beyond a traditional tenant / property manager relationship.

This may include linking our residents with service providers to foster community and economic participation, providing referrals to support services such as NDIS and mental health care, or fostering relationships with the Queensland Police Service.

These outreach services are accessed by residents at their own personal discretion.

(more…)

BHC wins two National Housing Awards

We were incredibly proud to see key members of the BHC team recognised last night at the 2023 PowerHousing Australia National Awards!

BHC’s Construction Manager, Greg Coghlan received this the ‘Outstanding Achievement Award’. For the past 19 years, Greg has overseen the development of the majority of our 2000 social and affordable homes. We are proud to see his longevity, commitment to the sector and steadfast dedication, recognised at this year’s awards.

Strategic Projects Manager, Elizabeth Kelso, won this year’s ‘Excellence in Customer Service and Business Support Award’. Elizabeth is the engine room behind many of BHC’s high impact customer service and business support initiatives. She brings a deep sense of mission, resident focus and collaboration to all her projects, and we are incredibly proud to see her contributions and achievements recognised last night.

Finally we couldn’t be more proud of the work our Rising Star nominee and Facilities Manager, David Musgrave. In an industry where a ‘one size fits all approach’ doesn’t cut it, David thrives on working out solutions to help our residents prosper providing long term housing outcomes for both current and future residents.

Congratulations to all the winners and finalists at this year’s PowerHousing National Awards.

BHC Impact Fund assists more than 500 vulnerable households in Brisbane

In the midst of a crippling housing crisis, more than 500 low-income Brisbane households have received life-changing support from BHC’s Impact Fund, which has been outlined in the organisation’s 2022/23 Impact Report.

BHC Chief Executive Officer Rebecca Oelkers said the Impact Fund enabled 513 residents in the last financial year to receive assistance to sustain tenancies, enhance wellbeing, boost employment skills and create cohesive communities.

“We are proud to be making an impact by supporting our residents to reach their goals and to thrive within our BHC communities,” she said.

“Assistance includes targeted grants and programs that support employment and training, mental health and wellbeing, social inclusion and financial literacy.”

BHC commits a minimum of $150,000 annually to the Impact Fund, fuelled by the profits from its ‘profit for purpose’ real estate agency, Elevate Residential.

The real estate agency generates revenue from property sales commissions and property management fees, with 100% of profits being donated to BHC. (more…)

Grant to support health and wellbeing outcomes for vulnerable community housing residents

BHC will deliver vital health services to some of its most vulnerable community housing residents after receiving a grant from Brisbane City Council’s Pathways out of Homelessness Grant Program.

The $157,184 grant delivered over three years will support Brisbane Housing Company’s Home & Health program which will enable a mobile health clinic to be provided at some of the organisation’s key housing sites.

BHC has partnered with not-for-profit community housing developer and provider Bric Housing to deliver the Home & Health program with the goal of reducing health disparities among vulnerable residents and in turn support them to sustain their tenancies.

BHC and Bric have a combined portfolio of 2,750 social and affordable homes.

Professional outreach medical services provider OneBridge has been engaged to deliver the Home & Health program.

(more…)