A program’s name is more than a label. It is a statement of intent. Community Housing Futures WA takes its name from a program that has already proven, in another state, that investing in community housing organisations changes lives. 

The Queensland Connection: 

Community Housing Futures is the name of a landmark capacity building program operating in Queensland, delivered by Q Shelter, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Housing Queensland, and the Community Housing Industry Association of Queensland, in partnership with the Queensland Government. Designed to enhance the capability of community housing providers to increase housing supply, the Queensland program offers grants, specialist advisory services, and training, and has been so successful that the Queensland Government invested an additional $4 million in 2024, bringing total funding to $8 million. 

Why WA Chose This Name:

Shelter WA has long maintained close ties with its counterparts in the national Shelter network, including Q Shelter. The success of Community Housing Futures in Queensland provided both a proof of concept and an inspiration. By adopting the same name for WA’s program, Shelter WA signals that Community Housing Futures WA is part of a national movement, grounded in the same evidence, guided by the same principles, and aimed at the same goal: a stronger, more capable community housing sector that can deliver more homes for the people who need them most. 

A WA Program, Built on WA Evidence:

While the name connects Community Housing Futures WA to its Queensland counterpart, the program itself is distinctly Western Australian, shaped by Shelter WA’s own research, the findings of the Paxon Report, three years of regional engagement, and the hard-won lessons of the ACHO Capacity Building Project. It is not a copy of what worked elsewhere. It is a program built on what WA’s sector has told us it needs, designed by people who have spent years listening.