Central Darling Local Housing Strategy

Challenge

Central Darling Shire Council is one of the most socio-economically disadvantaged and sparsely populated local government areas in Australia. The region faces severe housing pressures — from shortages and overcrowding to affordability, quality, and suitability issues. Recent natural disasters and infrastructure outages highlighted how vulnerable the community is when safe, resilient housing is lacking.

Council faced growing housing pressures, including shortages for key workers, a lack of affordable and suitable housing for vulnerable residents, and overcrowding in existing stock. These challenges were magnified by major flooding, drought, and telecommunications outages, which left communities isolated for long periods. Developing a Local Housing Strategy had been identified as a priority, but Council required external support to access funding, design the project, and manage its delivery.

Approach

We identified the NSW Government’s 2024 Regional Housing Strategic Planning Fund as a suitable opportunity and prepared a strong funding application, tailored to the unique challenges of Central Darling. After securing funding, we ran the competitive tender process to appoint an external planning consultant, provided ongoing project management and liaison between Council, consultants and state agencies, and supported grant acquittal and reporting to ensure compliance.

Outcomes

Secured $156,335 in NSW Government funding to develop the Local Housing Strategy. Enabled the project to move from priority concept to funded initiative, despite Council’s limited internal resources. Positioned Council to address critical housing needs with a strategic, evidence-based plan that responds to both local and state priorities.