Aboriginal Elders in South Australia are set to receive access to culturally-appropriate homes through a partnership between the South Australian and Commonwealth governments.
The 40 culturally-appropriate independent living units are being constructed in Bedford Park, south of Adelaide.
The project has been made possible through a $3 million grant from the National Housing Infrastructure Facility (NHIF), with contributions also coming from the South Australia Housing Trust and the Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation, totalling $4 million and $5.17 million respectively.
South Australian Minister for Human Services, Nat Cook, said the development provides an opportunity for more South Australian Aboriginal Elders to live on Country.
"This new village at Warriparinga, a culturally significant place, will be home to Elders who can live on country in secure and safe housing, on the Adelaide Plains where Kaurna people have gathered for thousands of years", Ms Cook said.
"We are so pleased to work in collaboration with the federal government and all our partners to create this wonderful community – it shows what can be achieved when governments come together and partner with Aboriginal people and organisations."
The NHIF funding component of the project is part of the federal government's 2022 announcement of $575 million allocation for social and affordable housing.
Federal Minister for Housing, Julie Collins, said the federal government is committed to providing secure housing to more Australians, including South Australia's Kaurna Elders.
"We're proud to be working with partners on this important project for Aboriginal Elders in South Australia," Ms Collins said.
Ms Collins said the investment is representative of the federal government's $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund and $2 billion Social Housing Accelerator.
"Our ambitious housing reform agenda is working across the board - with more help for homebuyers, more help for renters and more help for South Australians needing a safe place for the night," she said.
So far the federal government has invested $135 million through the Social Housing Accelerator, contributing to at least 230 new social home builds across South Australia.
Federal Member for Boothby, Louise Miller-Frost, said she was glad to see the project receive both state and federal government support.
"Having worked in the housing and homeless sector for many years, I am really pleased to see yet another social housing project fast tracked under the Albanese Federal Government and the Malinauskas State Government," Ms Miller-Frost said.
