Habitat for Humanity Australia| Contact information | HFH Australia
PO Box 4373
Ringwood
3134
State Abbr: VIC
State Name: Victoria
Australia
Phone: +61 (2) 99197000
Fax: +61 (2) 99197088
E-mail: info@habitat.org.au
| | Web site | www.habitat.org.au
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Australia -- Habitat for Humanity Int'l 1
THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA, the world’s smallest continent, but sixth largest country, has experienced nearly two decades of strong economic growth thanks in part to a commodities-lead boom driven by rapid global growth, particularly in developing markets such as China and India. Australia is an internationally competitive, and advanced and dynamic market economy, many of whose inhabitants enjoy an enviable standard of living and lifestyle.
Yet in spite of the country’s prosperity, more than one in ten people lives in poverty. There are approximately 200,000 families living permanently in caravan parks and more than 172,000 other families are on waiting lists for publicly-funded housing. An estimated 30,000 families live in “housing stress”, many spending up to half of their income on temporary, inadequate private-sector accommodation.
Public housing cannot keep up with demand and families are being forced into a “poverty trap”. Excessively high rents eat into income, making it almost impossible to save enough money for a deposit or to meet mortgage payments on their homes. An ongoing rental shortage and a dearth of affordable housing mean that the number of Australians living in inadequate or unsafe housing is growing every year.
Access to land is a key barrier to owning a home so HFH Australia works with the public- and private sector partners to secure affordable sites. HFH Australia builds and renovates homes using a traditional Habitat model whereby partner families are required to invest 500 hours of their labor– sweat equity – into building their home.
The average Habitat home in Australia is 100 sq. m and is typically a timber frame structure fitted with wall cladding and concrete or timber floors. It takes approximately six to nine months to complete a house. The first house was completed in the early 1990s.
HFH Australia operates through affiliates in five of the country’s six states, including: Victoria, with chapters in Bayside, Mornington Peninsula, Ballarat, Baw Baw, Shepparton, Plenty Valley, Geelong and Whitehorse; New South Wales with chapters in Western Sydney, Cowra, Orange, Quirindi and South East NSW; the ACT; Adelaide in South Australia; Perth in Western Australia; and finally Queensland with chapters in South East Queensland, Gympie and Caboolture and new chapters planned for Bileola and on the Fraser Coast.
HFH Australia also supports Habitat activities in the Asia-Pacific region and is helping provide housing and related water and sanitation facilities to hundreds of families in communities in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Cambodia, Vietnam and the Philippines. Much of this work is supported by donors and others continue their support. As new partners are recruited, the scale of this assistance could grow.
Habitat Highlights
• HFH Australia is partnering with the government to provide affordable housing in an eight-house site in Bidwill, on the outskirts of Sydney, New South Wales. The first Blitz Build was completed in November 2008.
• Habitat established a major partnership with the South Australian Government to create a new affordable housing model.
• HFH Australia is the charity of choice the Christmas range of gift manufacturer Hatcher’s. The three-year partnership sees a Habitat logo and story on 500,000 products sold in major retail chains.
• In 2006, HFH Australia launched an “Affordable Housing Land Trust” to further its housing projects for low-income families through the acquisition of land.
• HFH Australia was the winner of the 2005 Prime Minister’s Award for excellence in community business partnerships in the medium business category. The award recognizes the partnership between Habitat for Humanity and PMI Mortgage Insurance.
• More than 30 Global Village teams are expected to travel to countries such as Fiji, Nepal, Vietnam and Cambodia in the next 12 months.
COUNTRY FACTS
Population: 21 million (Sep 2008 est.)
Capital: Canberra
Area: 7,692,024 sq. km.
Ethnic groups: Caucasian 90%, Asian 8%, aboriginal and others 1%
Languages: English
Religions: Christianity 63.9%, of that Catholic 25.8%, Anglican 18.7%; Buddhism 2.1%; Islam 1.7%; unspecified 12.7%, none 15.3% (2001 census figures)
Updated January 2009
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