Australian-first energy efficient social housing project opens in Sunshine

Our ground-breaking affordable housing project in Sunshine is complete. This is a BaptistCare Affordable Housing (BAH) pilot project in environmental sustainability and energy efficiency.

The 20 new residences include eight PassivHauses. This is the first PassivHaus-designed social/affordable housing in Australia.

We have invested more capital into building these houses because we believe that, in the long-term, their efficiency will alleviate financial pressures for residents.

Soaring energy prices are a huge burden for many renters, so we have designed and built our extremely energy-efficient housing to reduce the pressure of high power bills.

“We are proud of this innovative project and believe it will be a game-changer for renters battling high energy costs,” said BaptistCare Chief Executive Officer Geraldine Lannon.

“We look forward to seeing what impact the PassivHauses have for people living in them, in terms of health, financial and social outcomes. This is a bold step forward in social and affordable housing, and we anticipate great outcomes for the families, couples and individuals living in these homes.

“BaptistCare is dedicated to finding better ways to work with our customers. We believe that second-best is not good enough. We want to be leaders in creating best outcomes for and with our customers,” Ms Lannon said

The completed housing project includes two four-bedroom PassivHauses and six two-bedroom PassivHauses. These dwellings meet international PassivHaus standards for airtightness, thermal insulation, ventilation, use of high-performance windows and doors and thermal bridge-free construction.

The other twelve dwellings – eight one-bedroom and four two-bedroom homes – are built to seven-star NaTHERS energy rating and aim to achieve a minimum of gold standard of the Liveable Housing Australia for accessibility to and within the property.

The development provides housing support for larger families, sole parents, financially disadvantaged people, people experiencing family or domestic violence, and older Victorians who meet the criteria for social/affordable housing.

All of the new residences have been allocated to renters. The new houses are located close to Sunshine shopping centre, services and public transport.

“In a cost of living crisis, BaptistCare has developed a community in collaboration with Homes Victoria that is truly trying to minimise the ongoing running costs to their tenants,” said James Kelly, Seniors Living & Care Partner, ClarkeHopkinsClarke Architects.

“We’ve used a simple architectural vernacular tailored to the streetscape. It includes a small, private, family-oriented park at the rear, with landscaping by John Patrick, where residents can connect to nature and each other.

“The interiors are functional, quality spaces, with simple joinery and the timber-framed, triple-glazed windows are really quite beautiful objects in their own right,” Mr Kelly said.

BAH will work with Sustainability Victoria and other agencies to study the ongoing impact of building highly energy-efficient social and affordable housing, and what this means for the health, financial and social outcomes for the people living in these dwellings.

This project has been funded through the Building Works Package, with the Victorian Government contributing $7 million to the $11.5 million development.

Learn more about our PassivHauses here.