Council Partnership Framework
A Movement, Not Just a Model
The Illawarra region faces a housing crisis that no single organisation, council, or profession can solve alone. With 1 in 6 residents experiencing housing stress, a rental vacancy rate below crisis threshold, and NSW Government targets requiring more than 10,000 new homes across Wollongong, Shellharbour, and Kiama by 2041, what is needed is not just a better development process — it is a fundamentally different way of working together.
Pocket Neighbourhoods Australia was founded on that conviction. Our Council Partnership Framework is both a practical delivery model and an open invitation: to the community housing providers, planning professionals, architects, investors, and advocates who share our belief that everyone deserves a safe, dignified place to call home — come build this with us.
A Framework Built for Collaboration
The housing crisis will only be resolved through genuine partnership across sectors. That is why our framework is designed not as a closed system, but as a platform that brings the right people around the right problems. We actively seek community housing providers with tenancy management expertise, planning professionals who understand the power of good design to change lives, and impact investors willing to put long-term community outcomes above short-term returns. Together, we unlock what none of us could deliver independently.
For councils specifically, this means we absorb the complexity. We identify and activate underutilised council-owned land without requiring upfront capital outlay, navigate SEPP and LEP planning pathways to reduce DA risk, structure development agreements that protect public interest, and connect projects to NHFIC finance and Commonwealth grant programs that would otherwise remain out of reach.
The vision is larger than any single project. By establishing replicable, scaleable models — proven at every scale from compact infill to master-planned precincts — and by growing a network of mission-aligned partners who bring their best expertise to every site, we aim to demonstrate that affordable housing done well is not a compromise. It is a contribution to a more resilient, more connected, and more equitable Illawarra for generations to come. If you share that ambition, we want to hear from you.