ACHOs secure funding to support services for Aboriginal people
Shelter WA was delighted to see three Aboriginal Community Housing Organisations (ACHOs) receive funding as part of a $3.4 million investment by the WA Government to improve priority community services to Aboriginal people and communities across Western Australia.
The funding is part of the Government’s implementation of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.
The WA Government, in partnership with Lotterywest, released the grants program in October 2022 calling for ideas from Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) to improve the delivery of priority community services to Aboriginal people and communities across Western Australia.
Grant applications were invited from not-for-profit ACCOs who want to improve, expand or develop initiatives across the priority sectors of housing, health, disability, and early childhood care and development. The grants will assist Aboriginal community-controlled organisations in delivering high-quality, sustainable services and outcomes for Aboriginal people and communities.
Successful Applications
The successful applications included three organisations who will put the funding towards housing:
• Marra Worra Worra Aboriginal Corporation, operating in Fitzroy Crossing, received $205,080
• Murchison Region Aboriginal Corporation, Shelter SWA member operating in Geraldton and the broader Midwest, received $149,500
• Nirrumbuk Environmental Health and Services Pty Ltd, operating in Broome, received $30,758
Additionally, Kuditj Pty Ltd, operating in Perth Metro, received $349,554 to support ACCOs (including housing ACCOs) to achieve ISO 27001:2013 accreditation.
Shelter WA’s ACHO Sector Strengthening project
Shelter WA’s ACHO Sector Strengthening project, which has been funded by the Department of Communities for one year, has met with over twenty-five ACHOs around the state to understand how we can help strengthen the sector, enable peer to peer knowledge sharing, resource exchange and relationship building between ACHOs. The project is facilitating vital connections between ACHOs, such as those that will be formed at the WA ACHO Sector Strengthening Summit in July. The project is also developing a suite of resources to support ACHOs progress towards community housing registration under the Community Housing Regulatory Framework.
The key objective of the project is to facilitate a stronger and more represented ACHO sector in Western Australia (WA) by providing resources, enabling relationship building, and laying the foundations for the development of a peak body.
Shelter WA is proud to be supporting the growth and sustainability of the ACHO sector in WA, and to see ACHOs that we have engaged with receiving funding and recognition for their important work.
Please get in touch by emailing ellie.morrissey@shelterwa.org.au if you are interested in hearing more about the project or if you are an ACCO that provides property and tenancy management services in WA and would like to be involved.
| Photo Credit – Dr. Tony Buti MLA Facebook post.
