Funders
- Department of Territory Families, Housing and Communities
Collaborators
This project established an Expert Advisory Group to provide direction and feedback on project aims, methodology, and outputs. The members include:
- Aboriginal Housing Northern Territory
- Yilli Rreung Aboriginal Housing Corporation
- Arnhem Land Progress Aboriginal Corporation
- Tangentyere Council Aboriginal Corporation
- Central Land Council
- Northern Land Council
Aims:
The purpose of this project is to monitor and evaluate the Northern Territory Government’s ‘Healthy Homes’ program. It considers the process, outputs, and outcomes of the Healthy Homes program on housing, as it is delivered through:
- Housing for Health projects in selected remote communities
- The Maintaining Housing for Better Health program at Alice Springs town camps, and
- New remote housing maintenance services and tenancy management support services contracts for remote community and town camp housing.
Background and Objectives:
The Healthy Homes program is one part of the Northern Territory (NT) Government’s ‘Our Community. Our Future. Our Homes’ remote housing investment package. Healthy Homes is framed as a new approach to housing maintenance that incorporates cyclical and preventive approaches and prioritises supporting residents to undertake ‘healthy living practices’. Having commenced in 2021, the program applies to 73 NT remote communities, Alice Springs town camps, and Tennant Creek community living areas. The Healthy Homes Monitoring and Evaluation Project aims to examine the implementation of Healthy Homes across a two-year period, including its administration and outputs.
Summary:
This project employed interviews, participant observation, document analysis, and statistical analysis. Interviews were undertaken with NT Government public servants, staff of contracted service providers, householders, and other stakeholders. Participant observation occurred at remote communities and town camps while researchers participated in project work and condition assessment tool (CAT) inspections. Statistical analysis was based on routine datasets focused on inspections and expenditure.
The Final Report and two-page policy brief for this project can be accessed via the resources tab.
Implications for policy and practice:
In the short-term, the project will inform reforms to remote community housing maintenance policy and practice undertaken by the NT Government and its contracted service providers. In the medium-term, the project’s analysis will contribute to the growth of an Aboriginal community controlled housing sector in the Northern Territory, in which relevant organisations are managing town camp and remote community housing according to best practice preventive maintenance approaches.
Chief Investigator:
Project Manager:
Contact information:
Project dates:
1 July 2021 – 30 June 2023
The Final Report has made 32 recommendations related to Healthy Homes. The policy brief linked below, groups these recommendations in relation to 5 program components: preventive maintenance; data collection and management; governance; maintenance contracts; and the next national agreement.