Chairperson’s report

CHAIRMAN MESSAGE PAUL HOWLETT

The turbulent events of 2020 have demonstrated that safe, secure and affordable housing is absolutely vital to securing the health and wellbeing of every Australian. Here at Evolve Housing, our team works tirelessly to create more housing and support our residents, and I am very proud to present our recent achievements to you in this report. place to facilitate even more growth.

There has long been a pressing need for more community housing in Australia and the global outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020 has exacerbated this need and highlighted underlying weaknesses and inequalities in our country’s housing system. While this is a difficult time for all Australians, I am confident that Evolve Housing will be able to play a meaningful role in stimulating the economy and creating more suitable, reasonably priced housing in response to the crisis.

In February 2020, we updated our Strategic Plan to ensure that it remains relevant to our operating environment. Our four main goals are to achieve sustainable growth, enhance business practice and capacity, provide quality homes and services, and improve social outcomes for our clients. We are aiming to provide housing assistance to more than 10, 000 partnerships in place, and a devoted team of

people by 2023.

While our goals are ambitious, they are backed by a solid, detailed and realistic plan that outlines the actions we must take to achieve our objectives. One of the main drivers of our growth is our expansion outside the metropolitan Sydney area into regional NSW and even interstate.

We also recently completed a housing project in Newcastle. We have been able to achieve this

expansion due to productive, mutually beneficial resources and knowledge that complement our own. Our membership in Centacare Evolve Housing (CEH) in Tasmania has enabled us to extend our reach and

provide more housing in a state that desperately needs it. CEH was established in 2014, and since then has acquired a portfolio of 1377 properties and $81M in equity. It has become one of Tasmania’s most successful community housing providers, regularly being chosen to manage state government housing and programs, and has an excellent Strategic Plan in

In NSW, our joint venture with fellow community housing provider Pacific Link Housing has allowed us to deliver quality homes in Roselands and the Central Coast, including a newly completed project in Canton Beach.

With a strong plan guiding our progress, great partnerships with other organisations who have

professionals working for us, Evolve Housing has been able to achieve a lot during the past financial year. I have no doubt that this success will continue in 2020–2021, and I look forward to working hard alongside my fellow Directors and Evolve Housing staff to deliver more homes and support for those in need.

Paul Howlett, Chair, Evolve Housing

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