As a consultant and NDIS support coordinator, Annie knows designing and building homes for people with disability in collaboration is life changing.

“Having the right accommodation can massively improve lives because people are more likely to receive the support they need and they will feel a lot safer,” Annie says.

Homes Tasmania has collaborated with Annie on several projects over the past five years, to ensure new specialist disability homes deliver good housing outcomes for Tasmanians with disability. Annie works with tenants to identify their housing needs and inform the best housing design for the household.

“I think, ultimately, it’s the biggest thing for any of the people I provide support coordination for, if they have somewhere stable to live, everything else can follow from that and they can be supported to access the right services.”

“Getting everyone working together to deliver a positive outcome for the people who will be living there,” Annie says.

Specialist disability accommodation is housing designed for people with extreme functional impairment or very high support needs. These homes have accessible features to help residents live more independently and allow other supports to be delivered better or more safely. Eligible participants have extreme functional impairment or very high support needs and meet the requirements under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) funding criteria.

“And being able, where we can, to get input from the tenants as well, such as feature wall colours or if they need a dog door – things that they can have choice in.

“It’s about delivering homes where people can be safe and where people can receive the right supports to build their capacity to be as independent as they can.”

For the most recently completed project, Annie and Homes Tasmania’s Tenancy Services team identified three tenants who required a unique housing solution to help them receive the most appropriate support.

Annie worked closely with Homes Tasmania’s Tenancy Services and Community Partners and Projects teams, as well as building company Podmatrix, during the design, construction and delivery of three new one-bedroom units, and helped ensure the tenants made a successful transition from their former homes.

The site also includes a fourth unit for support staff, giving the tenants access to onsite overnight support.

“Now that the tenants have moved in, it has freed up two 2-bedroom units that can be used to accommodate other people on the Housing Register, so there will be positive outcomes for more people,” Annie says.

The tenants of the three new units closely followed the construction work on their new homes, eagerly awaiting their completion.

“I am really excited to be moving into my new unit and I am looking forward to living there forever,” one of the tenants said.

For Annie, one of the best parts of her job is being able to help people live in a safe and stable home that meets their needs.

“It makes me really happy when I know that people are doing well. It is a privilege to see the outcomes of teams working together to achieve these great results.”