Health and Education

Specialist Disability Accommodation

Access to adequate, accessible, and affordable housing is a fundamental human right. For many people with complex disability, their support and housing needs often result in higher costs associated with housing.

Historically, housing tailored for people with disability has been largely provided by government and the not-for-profit sector, with several challenges:

  1. Insufficient capacity – there have been lengthy waitlists for the limited supply of appropriate housing, resulting in a large number of people unable to secure appropriate accommodation.
  2. Ageing stock – homes often not fit for purpose and requiring replacement.
  3. Outdated care models – large group homes which are institutional in nature are no longer considered good practice.

In 2013 the Commonwealth Government introduced the National Disability Insurance Scheme (“NDIS”) to address the challenges that surround living with a disability. The NDIS is a complex national reform aimed to shift away from a block-funded welfare model of support to a fee-for-service, market-based approach. A guiding principle behind the introduction of the NDIS is the aim of providing people with choice and control. One stream of the NDIS addresses housing directly – Specialist Disability Accommodation (“SDA”).

Image of SDA apartment building in Gold Coast | Image Credit: Peter Sexty
Image of SDA apartment building in Gold Coast | Image Credit: Peter Sexty

How do we address this challenge?

CIM believes that we can have the greatest impact in SDA by:
  1. financing the creation of disability housing that may not have otherwise been financed, with a focus on design categories for which there is meaningful unmet demand;
  2. demonstrating models of investment that can be scaled by the market; and
  3. ensuring all aspects of our investment – from design to tenant selection to the provision of supports – are participant-led and conducted with best practice.

Consistent with our investment strategy, we invest once we have identified and partnered with an Impact Partner with the relevant expertise and capability to deliver high impact. Within SDA, we are fortunate to partner with Liverty Housing (formerly Summer Housing), one of the leading providers of disability accommodation in Australia.

Impact achieved to date

We are proud to have entered the sector by funding property types that we perceived were underserved by the market, including Fully Accessible and Improved Liveability apartments. By financing these dwellings, CIM capital facilitated Liverty Housing to fulfil a strategic direction change away from asset ownership and instead focusing resources on continuing to deliver exemplary services to their tenants and driving innovation in the SDA sector.

To date, CIM has financed 114 SDA apartments alongside Liverty Housing around Australia.

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