Federal Special Envoy for Social Housing and Homelessness Josh Burns MP told the 2025 Australian Co-operative Housing Alliance (ACHA) Summit that Australia’s housing crisis demands fresh thinking and stronger partnerships with the co-operative sector.
A Different Way of Thinking
Mr Burns highlighted the unique value of co-operative housing, saying the model provides stability and a genuine sense of ownership. “One of the things that we really want to achieve as part of people working across the housing sector is security in tenure, is making people feel like they have a safe and secure home,” he explained.
He emphasised that government is prepared to work alongside co-ops to make this a reality. “We are keen to work with the co-op sector, we’re keen to ensure that people are not, or that the co-op housing organisations are not excluded from government programs, and to ensure that there is a fair playing field … we are looking at the picture across the country of what sort of homes we need to build, that the amazing work that the co-op sector does do to provide that long-term, secure homes, to provide that sense of belonging and safety and security for people, is possible, and the government’s support and partnership is possible.”
Foundations for Life
Mr Burns argued that housing is about far more than construction. “When you have people who have that sense of belonging. And that sense of security in their own home. And when you have people who are able to know that they can go home to a safe place, what’s possible in the rest of their life is endless. But without that first foundation, you can’t build the rest of your life,” he said.
He added that co-operatives represent “a completely different way of thinking. It’s not about long-term rental, it’s about the sense of belonging and ownership of your own home and your own place. And I think that that’s a really important, fundamental way of thinking about housing, because housing is not about bricks and mortar. It’s about safety, it’s about security, it’s about the foundations of life.”
Shared Responsibility
Mr Burns also praised the commitment required of co-op members. “When you add that extra responsibility and that extra effort that the co-ops are asking of people saying, well, if you’re going to have this home, then it can’t be a passive experience. It’s got to be one where you invest, and you put in, and what you get out of that is that sense of belonging….I think it’s a way of thinking about housing that, just like it does around the world, has a big future.”
Call for Collaboration
Mr Burns closed his remarks with an invitation to the sector to continue the conversation with government, reinforcing that the goal is not just to build houses, but to create lasting communities.
His address left no doubt that co-operative housing has a place in a national strategy to deliver safe, secure and affordable homes, and that its future, with government support, is bright.