News and Events

A St Kilda community housing advocate, who developed a profitable social housing business providing affordable accommodation to low-income households, has won the Social Impact Award at the 2015 HESTA Community Sector Awards.

Karen Barnett — of Port Phillip Housing Association — was recognised for her 25-year commitment to Victoria’s community housing sector and contributing to the development of local, state and national housing policies.

PPHA recently teamed up with Secondbite to deliver the Foodmate program, an eight week journey to food independence for the residents at Ravelston Rooming House.

Each week participants on the program were taught the skills required to source, prepare and enjoy fresh healthy food on a budget. Participants were also taught food safety, food storage, and were introduced to stall holders at South Melbourne Market who gave them great shopping tips.

Each week the participants received a weekly hamper of fresh produce for them to practice the skills they had learnt in the session.

The residents at Ravelston enjoyed the social aspect of the program as well as a new approach to healthy eating and the health benefits they have noticed since completing the course.

PPHA are now rolling the Foodmate program out to other rooming houses starting at Woodstock. 

Congratulations to Karen Barnett who last night received the award for Outstanding Achievement at the Powerhousing Australia Conference. The award recognises Karen's achievements over 25 years at the helm of PPHA and her ongoing committment to the broader sector at both a State and a National level. We at PPHA are proud to have you as our leader.

PPHA will be present at a free, accessible information forum about housing options for people and families affected by mental illness who live in the Cities of Stonnington, Port Phillip, Glen Eira, Bayside or Kingston.

    Wednesday 22 April 2015 5.30-8.30pm

     St Kilda Town Hall, 99a Carlisle Street, St Kilda

• Hear from housing service providers and families who have explored options, about the first steps to identifying appropriate housing
• Connect with organisations which can offer support to your family
• Talk to staff at information stalls
• Seek answers to questions about your personal situation

Refreshments are available throughout the forum.

The Town Hall is accessible via train (Balaclava Station) and trams (Routes 3, 16, 67, 78).

Parking on the street is limited and subject to availability.

If attending, please RSVP by 17 April 2015.

Contact: GROW on 1800 558 268 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Please advise when you RSVP if any assistance is required with an interpreter, respite and/or transport is required.

The forum is presented by the Inner South/Bayside Mental Health Network.

                   Parking Map                   Venue Diagram

THE AUSTRALIAN, MARCH 23, 2015 

HELP for victims of domestic ­violence will be given priority in a $230 million federal program to support the homeless, as the Abbot­t government ends a standoff with the states by making a new commitment to fund the ­services.

Have you ever heard people say that 'Community Housing Organisations do not house many people on low
incomes?' Or perhaps someone said that they heard that 'because Community
Housing Organisations have higher income eligibility criteria for tenants than public
housing they mostly 'cherry pick' the people on higher incomes?' 

The Community Housing Federation of Victoria has released this paper backed up with evidence to expain exactly who Community Housing Associations do house. Follow the link to read the paper in full and you will discover that the assumptions are not based on the facts.

Who Do We House?

PPHA is excited to announce that it has received a $20,000 grant from Australian Ethical.

Australian Ethical is an ethical superannuation firm that donates 10% of pre-tax profits to their grants program. superfund members vote for their community grant recipients. The Growing together project was shortlisted from hundreds of applications, and was one of only two $20,000 grants that were available.

Growing Together is a community garden project designed to create social connection and build capacity with PPHA rooming house tenants.

Rooming house residents participating in the project have the opportunity to build skills in communication, team-work, negotiation and conflict resolution, whilst also learning about food cultivation and gardening. By participating in the project, it is hoped that tenants trust and confidence in themselves and each other will increase.

Many rooming house residents have been long-term unemployed and would like the opportunity to work, but do not have the confidence or skills needed to re-enter the workforce. Growing a community garden together provides an opportunity for people to not only grow food, but develop a skillset and a sense of connectedness with each other. In the process, this will assist tenants in improving self-esteem, having the confidence to take the necessary steps to employment and regaining control over their lives.

A Productivity Commission report has shown that Victoria’s state’s social housing funding dropped by more than half between 2010 and 2014.

Victoria’s spending on social housing has plummeted in recent years, with New South Wales, Western Australia and Queensland now spending more each year, the Productivity Commission has found.

Figures released by the Productivity Commission show that NSW spent $1.9bn on social housing in 2013-14, WA spent $714m and Queensland spent $488m.

But the Victorian Labor government said the figures were evidence the previous Liberal administration “tore the heart” out of social housing.

Last night, several PPHA staff attended the Gala Event held at the Bayview Eden on Queen Street and hosted by Tracy Harvey. PPHA was a finalist in two categories, picking up the Award for Business Excellence in the category of Medium to Large Business.

Port Phillip Housing Association has been announced as a finalist in the Citipower Port Phillip Business Excellence Awards for 2014 in two categories:

• Medium and Large Business and
• Partnership and Corporate Responsibility -  NFP.

Focused on the services and opportunities available within the City of Port Phillip, the Rooming House Survival Guide was launched at a public function on Monday 4 August. The guide is available as a printed booklet or as a pdf on a USB stick. Produced by St Kilda Community Housing, the booklet aims provide information to rooming house residents on the activities and services that can be accessed easily and importantly, cheaply. An advisory committee of housing staff, rooming house residents and service providers oversaw the production of the booklet. PPHA had both a staff and a rooming house representative on the committee. Congratulations to all on producing this valuable resource.

Download Guide Here

A film from the M.A.D.E. exhibition and homelessness conference held in March is now available to be viewed.

In recognition of her work with the men of the Regal Rooming House, Kerry Riches was nominated in the HESTA Unsung Hero Awards.

Port Phillip Housing Association's (PPHA) Ashwood Chadstone Gateway Project (ACGP) was announced as the Victorian finalist in the 2014 Property Council of Australia Awards.

Affordable Housing: Everyone Has A Story To Tell

Art Exhibition and Community Forum

Due to the great success of the November 2013 Exhibition Port Phillip Housing Association (PPHA) in partnership with The Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka (M.A.D.E.) is highlighting the important role affordable and secure housing can play in boosting community participation and personal resilience of community housing tenants.

In an unprecedented move, seven state peak organisations with an interest in housing, homelessness and domestic violence have come together to produce a new vision for social housing in Victoria.

Announced at the Powerhousing Conference on Thursday 20 March 2014, PPHA won two of the five national award categories for the community housing sector.