Community land trusts and Indigenous housing options

This report presents the findings of AHURI-funded research into the potential relevance of models based on Community Land Trusts (CLTs), one form of hybrid tenure, for the Indigenous housing sector. The aims of the project have been to tease out relevant aspects of CLTs as developed overseas and to investigate their resonance with and applicability to Indigenous housing policy objectives, with a practical focus on their potential operation in New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland. Research for the project was undertaken in two phases. Phase 1 addressed the first two of the above research questions and consisted of a desk-based literature review combined with material collected from previous discussions with CLT researchers and practitioners in the United States of America (US) and the United Kingdom (UK). The second phase responded to questions three through five via field work with communities in NSW and Queensland, and by examining Indigenous land title and relevant Acts, undertaking financial modelling and exploring potential governance issues. The outcomes of Phase 1 were presented in the Research Report ‘Principles and practices of an affordable housing community land trust model’ (Crabtree et al. 2012), which is a companion report to this Final Report. This Final Report presents findings from the second phase of the project, responding to the remaining questions listed above and documenting the processes through which the research was undertaken. An Indigenous Advisory Group (IAG) formed at the commencement of the project was central to bringing Indigenous knowledge and engagement to the project. The IAG: workshopped core research questions with the research team; provided guidance on case study selection criteria developed by the team; reviewed the case study shortlist; provided feedback on fieldwork findings and scenarios; and, provided feedback on the draft Final Report. Following the field work, the IAG was expanded to include members of communities that were visited over the course of the research. Primary research for the project was centred on a case study approach to assessing the potential for adopting or adjusting CLT models for Indigenous housing in specific locations in two state jurisdictions, NSW and Queensland. This fieldwork was supplemented by expert analysis of three areas that would be critical to the successful establishment of a CLT type model for Indigenous housing. First, specialist advice about legal issues that would need to be addressed in order to implement CLTs was obtained. In particular, expert legal consideration was given to the implications of the NSW Aboriginal Land Rights Act (ALRA) and the Queensland Aboriginal Land Act (ALA). Second, preliminary financial modelling of the costs of core CLT activities in different market contexts was performed, supplemented by interviews with Indigenous and mainstream financial agencies. Third, possible governance mechanisms for delivering CLT programs were examined, in the context of both the existing institutional arrangements for the delivery of Indigenous housing in Australia and international best practice.