‘Forefront of change’: Why this property group is joining the movement to end homelessness

For Alison Renton of Frasers Property Australia, the conversation about homelessness is inseparable from their mission to create belonging.

Ms Renton, the company’s brand and communications director, said their work had always been about connecting people, strengthening communities and making housing attainable for more Australians.

This year, Frasers Property has partnered with A Home for All Foundation – a national initiative uniting the property industry to help end homelessness by creating more resources to tackle the problem.

“Someone needs to be at the forefront of change,” Ms Renton said.

“It makes complete sense that it should be the property industry leading the charge and discussion on homelessness, because standing up and doing what we can… for a good cause is what we want to be part of.”

It comes after Ms Renton was in Canberra last year as a representative of the Parliamentary Friends of Ending Loneliness campaign. Ms Renton said the two coincidently went hand in hand.

Creating a community of connection is at the heart of what Frasers Property do – with social housing an aspect of the new homes they build.

A new social housing project is underway at Midtown, Macquarie Park in Sydney to address the national shortage of homes.

“We’ve seen the affordability challenges that have happened over the last few years in Australia, and working in the social housing sector is something we are passionate about as part of our greater portfolio of work,” Ms Renton said.

“Partnering with the Loneliness Awareness campaign last September felt like a responsible thing to do, because at Frasers Property, our belief is around creating belonging and communities.

“We’ve done a lot of research into belonging and loneliness and extending our reach into the homelessness awareness space felt a huge part of that message.”

Frasers Property’s executive general manager Emily Wood, who is an advisory committee member of A Home for All Foundation, said these initiatives were critical.

“Initiatives like A Home for All Foundation are vitally important to help direct funding where it is most needed and to spark the collaboration required to address change at scale,” Ms Wood said.

Australians are being encouraged to join the property industry in spending A Night Without Home to raise awareness and funds for this important cause. 

All of the funds raised this financial year will go to charities working to support those experiencing homelessness due to family and domestic violence.

On any given night, 122,000 Australians have no safe, secure place to call home, and one in 10 Australians were at risk of experiencing homelessness.

“Many of us in the property industry have kids of our own and wonder how are they going to afford a home in a major capital city,” Ms Renton said.

“Seeing the industry come together and address this by breaking down those barriers is so important.  It’s not just the affordability of homes, but also how long it takes to build new houses and the development process is quite slow.”

Ms Renton said they were focused speeding up the delivery of more homes and making more housing options for people, noting that the diversity of housing types was also part of the bigger picture.

“We have to try and make housing attainable for more people,” she said.

“All the work we do in the community development space is all around connecting people. Making sure they know their neighbours, bringing everyone together organically, and planning that with the community and the residents as they move in.”  

Working at Frasers Property has resonated with Ms Renton because they’re genuinely passionate about making a difference beyond selling homes.

“We’re not just building and selling homes and then moving on,” she said.

“We care about the people who live in those communities and what facilities they have around them. We do that little bit extra to provide more and to make sure that we’re improving the lives of the people that are living in these communities.”

The social housing project at Macquarie Park in Sydney is a joint state government and private housing development.

“Around a third of the apartments here are dedicated to social housing,” Ms Renton said.

“It’s about providing more options for people; where government and private sectors can work hand in hand in delivering better outcomes for social housing.”

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