As the dream of home ownership drifts further out of reach for many, a growing number of communities are turning to co-operative and collective housing models to find sustainable, secure, and inclusive solutions.
A recent SBS Indonesian podcast explores alternative housing concepts taking shape in Australia and Indonesia, highlighting how community-led approaches can offer more than just a roof over one’s head. Instead, they can restore agency, foster belonging, and support economic participation.
The Australian Context: Co-operative Housing in Victoria
In Victoria, co-operative housing offers a different way to live. Instead of a traditional landlord-tenant relationship, tenants become members of housing co-ops, collectively managing their homes. According to Liz Thomas, Managing Director of Common Equity Housing, these properties don’t have to be single shared buildings. Rather, they’re often homes within 20km of each other, connected through a governance model that emphasises reciprocity and participation.
To rent within a housing co-op, residents must join the co-op and take an active role, whether through governance meetings or shared responsibilities. Today, Victoria has around 100 co-operatives managing approximately 2,000 properties. But with co-op housing making up less than 1% of Australia’s total housing stock, there’s significant room to grow.
A Parallel in Indonesia: Kampung Susun Akuarium, Jakarta
Meanwhile in Jakarta, the community of Kampung Susun Akuarium showcases the power of grassroots mobilisation. Once forcibly evicted in 2016, around 3,000 residents returned to the rubble of their homes, determined to rebuild. Their advocacy efforts, supported by the Rujak Centre for Urban Studies (RCUS) and others, eventually led to a political agreement with then-gubernatorial candidate Anies Baswedan, who committed to rebuilding the community if elected.
Unlike conventional public housing, Kampung Susun Akuarium was co-designed by the community to support informal livelihoods and foster social cohesion. Residents must be members of a co-op and part of the original displaced community. What’s more, funding came not from the state budget, but through Jakarta’s SP3L developer licensing scheme, which requires developers to dedicate 20% of project value to social housing.
This project has earned RCUS and the community international recognition, including a Gold Medal from the World Habitat Awards, celebrating their vision of decent, self-determined housing for low-income residents.
Shared Values, Different Paths
Though separated by oceans and urban realities, co-operative housing models in Melbourne and Jakarta share key values:
Community control
Shared responsibility
Affordability through non-profit mechanisms
Integration of social and economic participation
In Australia, Nightingale Housing echoes these principles. With 616 residences developed to date, this not-for-profit organisation builds cost-based housing that prioritises environmental sustainability and minimises car dependency. Around 140 of these homes are reserved for community housing providers supporting those at risk of homelessness.
As Toby Dean, Executive Director of Nightingale Housing, explains:
“We believe that the residential property industry can play a key role in addressing housing inequities and insecurity.”
A Future Built Together
From Victoria’s housing co-operatives to Jakarta’s post-eviction renewal efforts and Melbourne’s Nightingale projects, one message is clear: alternative housing models work—especially when they centre people, not profit.
At ACHA, we continue to advocate for co-operative housing as a vital piece of Australia’s housing puzzle, and we’re inspired by the creativity and resilience of communities worldwide working to reclaim the right to a safe, affordable home.
Source:
Adapted from SBS Indonesian Podcast – Alternative housing concepts in Australia and Indonesia