[North Eveleigh] Stockland at REDWatch Meeting/ RRR presentation/ Social Housing Audit / Human Services/ Homes NSW and Planning Updates and more

[Geoff Turnbull (REDWatch Spokesperson)]

Dear REDWatch members, supporters and agencies,


Waterloo South conversation continues with Stockland and Homes NSW - REDWatch Meeting 6pm August 7th

Launch of Retain, Repair, Reinvest: Waterloo Estate - High rise refurbishment feasibility - 25th and 26th July

Social Housing Performance Audit 24 June 2025

Waterloo Collaborative and the Performance Audit

Homes NSW - 10-year plan feedback

Homes NSW - development website changes

Homes NSW - Housing Design Requirements

Explorer Street Eveleigh Rezoning Movement

Planning Changes - Exhibition periods and design Excellence

Understanding the Planning System and Community Participation

Build a Bridge at Eveleigh Campaign

Shelter NSW Walking Tours of The Rocks and Darlinghurst
Please note - this email contains hyperlinks. This means that if you see a blue underlined word or phrase that you can click on it and go directly to a document or to get more information.
Waterloo South conversation continues with Stockland and Homes NSW - REDWatch Meeting 6pm August 7th
In August Stockland and Homes NSW will be providing project updates to REDWatch and the wider stakeholder groups. The project update will provide an insight into the Consortium's proposal, current focus and an indication of next steps for engaging with key stakeholders and community. The Consortium is made up of Stockland<https://www.listcorp.com/asx/sgp/stockland/news/waterloo-renewal-project-3176260.html>, Link Wentworth Housing<https://www.linkwentworth.org.au/media-releases/nsw-government-confirms-stockland-consortium-as-delivery-partner-for-waterloo-renewal-project/>, City West Housing<https://citywesthousing.com.au/renewal-of-the-waterloo-south-estate/> and Birribee Housing<https://www.linkedin.com/posts/paul-coe-949723143_on-6-august-2024-i-sat-down-at-a-board-table-activity-7316030912880594944-c4SW?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAA0OtUYBpxp_z1nS6OcOEaohVt7X5qEXkeU>.
So, come along to the REDWatch meeting and hear from the Consortium and join the conversation about what they are thinking and what you want to see from them. The REDWatch meeting is at 6pm on Thursday 7th August 2025 to Counterpoint's Factory Community Centre, 67 Raglan Street, Waterloo or join us on line at by Zoom http://tinyurl.com/RedwatchMeetingZoom.
REDWatch prepared some Initial Questions for Homes NSW Portfolio and Consortium Partners - Waterloo South Redevelopment in May 2025<http://www.redwatch.org.au/RWA/Waterloo/lahc22-23/250523redw>. Homes NSW and the Consortium have advised they will be addressing this wide range of information over time as the partnership, preparation and planning come together for Waterloo South. While REDWatch does not expect answers to all these questions at this point of time, the questions provide a guide to what we are looking to find out over the next few months.
In the last REDWatch Update we explored what the community should expect from the Consortium based on the earlier finalised planning contro1s - this is the link to the REDWatch Refresher on the Waterloo South Planning Proposal<http://www.redwatch.org.au/RWA/Waterloo/stage1/250605redwpres/view>.
Launch of Retain, Repair, Reinvest: Waterloo Estate - High rise refurbishment feasibility - 25th and 26th July
OFFICE has finalised its Retain Repair Reinvest (RRR) study showing how the Waterloo high-rises could be refurbished and in-fill buildings included around the existing buildings. OFFICE is holding two launch events, on 25th and 26th July at NCIE. The event on the 25th is for the general public and the on the 26th is for the Waterloo community. Below are the details:

  *   General Public launch: Friday 25th July, 6:00pm-7:00pm - NCIE 180 George St Redfern, Conference Room 6002- Event link for the 25th https://events.humanitix.com/retain-repair-reinvest-waterloo-north-and-central
  *   Residents and Local Community launch: Saturday 26th July, 12:00pm-1:00pm - NCIE 180 George St Redfern, Conference Room 6002

OFFICE's aim was to explore the feasibility of refurbishing the Waterloo high-rises to make it possible to deliver the same or greater levels of social housing in this part of the estate. The earlier LAHC preferred masterplan would have seen the loss of hundreds of social housing units under its then 30:70 proposal. In-fill housing, like that in the OFFICE proposal, was envisaged in BEP2 feasibility figures in 2011, but no potential locations were shown to the community. One of the Master Plan options prepared by Land and Housing Corporation retained Manavi and Turanga and the City of Sydney have suggested in the past that refurbishment should be considered as an option.
The RRR project is independent from Homes NSW and separate to the redevelopment plans for Waterloo South. Homes NSW says that it will be many years before it develops the high-rise area and 10 years before the people in that area may need to relocate.
Social Housing Performance Audit 24 June 2025
The Audit Office of NSW in late June published its Performance Audit Report into Social Housing<https://www.audit.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/Final%20report%20-%20Social%20Housing.pdf>. The objective of this audit was to assess whether social housing is effectively and efficiently prioritised to meet the needs of vulnerable households, and whether social housing tenants are effectively supported to establish and sustain their tenancies. The report looks into applying for social housing, processing applications, social housing allocations and offers, starting a new tenancy and sustaining tenancies up to June 2024.
The Audit recommended that by June 2026, the Department of Communities and Justice / Homes NSW should:

  1.  simplify the social housing application process to reduce barriers to applying for eligible applicants and improve the efficiency of processing applications
  2.  review and improve the allocation and offer process to better match client needs with available properties and increase the number of offers that are accepted
  3.  regularly monitor and report on the use of manual allocations to ensure they are consistent with policy and do not create inequitable outcomes
  4.  clearly articulate the role of Homes NSW as a social housing landlord to help tenants access support to sustain their tenancy, including by:
     *   strengthening the Homes NSW practice framework for support coordination
     *   strengthening local approaches to working in partnership with government agencies and support services
  5.  align key data sets to improve data consistency between DCJ and community housing providers to enable system-wide analysis and reporting on outcomes for tenants.
In Appendix 1 - NSW Communities and Justice accepts all the recommendations, noting that Homes NSW has now been set up and that the consultation for the Homes NSW Plan identified many of the same issues and that the recommendations align with the key reform areas that Homes NSW has identified for action in its plan. (Note: the appendices are only currently accessible in the PDF version and are not on the Audit website. The DCJ response is an image rather than text so REDWatch has placed a text recognition version it on its website to make the response more assessable at DCJ Housing / Homes NSW response to 2025 Performance Audit of Social Housing<http://www.redwatch.org.au/issues/public-housing/250721dcjocr/view>).
The Audit report is worth reading to better understand what has been happening in housing administration and to know what Homes NSW has agreed to address. The report also covers some Community Housing providers including Link-Wentworth who are part of the Waterloo redevelopment.
Waterloo Collaborative and the Performance Audit
The Waterloo Human Services Collaborative has been focused on the supports for public housing tenants so Recommendation 4 is particularly relevant. Its asks Homes NSW to:
4. clearly articulate the role of Homes NSW as a social housing landlord to help tenants access support to sustain their tenancy, including by:
a.                   strengthening the Homes NSW practice framework for support coordination
b.                   strengthening local approaches to working in partnership with government agencies and support services
Homes NSW's response in accepting Recommendation 4 said:
"Homes NSW will articulate its roles as a social landlord in the non-market housing system, including in relation to sustaining tenancies and helping our customers to get matched to the services they need as quickly as possible. Homes NSW commits to reviewing practices and procedures and to strengthening how we bring together housing and homelessness services and provider through a local coordination approach that helps to ensure people are connected to the right support at the right time to get and keep a home".
Recommendation 4 a) has been a focus of Groundswell's meetings with DCJ Housing / Homes NSW. It is also covered in the Homes NSW Addendum to the Waterloo Action Plan that comes out of the DCJ/ Homes NSW - Groundswell meetings over the last six years. It is good to see the problems we have been raising from tenants acknowledged by both the Audit and Homes NSW. We wait to see how Homes NSW implements improved supports for new and existing tenants and the referral tracking highlighted in the Audit.
Recommendation 4 b) asks Homes to strengthen exactly the process that the Waterloo Human Service Collaborative was set up to do as a local approach to working in partnership with government agencies and support services.
Ironically the Audit recommendations come at the same time that Homes NSW has reduced support for the backbone Secretariat for the Waterloo Human Services Collaborative. Up until late last year DCJ Housing was funded by the old Land and Housing Corporation to provide the Secretariat. In a newly combined Homes NSW, the redevelopment decided it was not its responsibility and they declined to renew the funding. The Secretariat staff were then redeployed to the stop-gap Tenant Participation team, in addition to maintaining a reduced role on the Collaborative. In the lead up to the new Tennant Participation teams being rolled out at the beginning of July 2025, Homes NSW announced that the new Sydney District would take over the Secretariat role in the short term with a view to Secretariat being shared across those participating in the Collaborative.
So at the same time that the Audit report wants homes to "strengthening local approaches to working in partnership with government agencies and support services" Homes NSW has reduced backbone support to an existing mechanism that is doing what the auditor want them to do more of.
REDWatch is of the view that supports for Public Housing tenants should be core business for Homes NSW which is focused on putting tenants at the heart of what it is doing. Other agencies have wider remits that intersect with Homes NSW tenants. All agencies in a Collaboration need to focus their resources on areas identified by the Collaboration. Backbone support for service improvement for public housing tenants, however would seem to be a Homes NSW responsibility, as the audit report seems to indicate by asking Homes to strengthen this approach for its tenants.
It seems to REDWatch that Homes NSW should be looking to provide the backbone support for a collaboration that already exists and be able to report on it in 12 months' time as a potential model to be encouraged elsewhere in the state. This may require funding initially from the Home's NSW state office to make sure it works, rather than simply adding this as another role that the new Sydney District is expected to cover as it strives to deliver on recommendation 4 a).
Groundswell NGO representatives are looking to meet with the district to better understand how audit recommendation 4 will be actioned in the Sydney District and its ability to provide the Collaborative's backbone support from the district budget. The backbone support issue is also being followed up by the Waterloo Collaborative chairs.
Homes NSW - 10-year plan feedback
Homes NSW is developing a 10-year Homes for NSW Plan to improve the social housing and homelessness system. Homes says the final 10-year plan will be released in July 2025. In the meantime it has released a brief 2 page Homes for NSW Discussion Paper consultation - what we heard<https://www.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/noindex/2025-06/homes-for-nsw-plan-discussion-paper-consultation-what-we-heard.pdf> summary (PDF 507.74KB).
Homes NSW - development website changes
The old Department of Planning Land and Housing website, which contained information on public housing redevelopments has moved to new Social Housing Building Projects<https://www.nsw.gov.au/about-nsw/housing-and-infrastructure-projects> section of the NSW government site<https://www.nsw.gov.au/>.  The website content has also been updated so there is some new information there about projects in our area. You may want to bookmark the new web pages for sites of interest such as the Waterloo Renewal Project<https://www.nsw.gov.au/about-nsw/housing-and-infrastructure-projects/social-building-projects/waterloo-renewal-project>, Redfern Place<https://www.nsw.gov.au/about-nsw/housing-and-infrastructure-projects/social-building-projects/new-mixed-use-redevelopment-project-at-redfern-place> (Elizabeth Street) and Explorer Street<https://www.nsw.gov.au/about-nsw/housing-and-infrastructure-projects/social-building-projects/explorer-street-eveleigh-rezoning-and-redevelopment> (Eveleigh).
The Waterloo Renewal Project<https://www.nsw.gov.au/about-nsw/housing-and-infrastructure-projects/social-building-projects/waterloo-renewal-project> page contains expanded information on Aboriginal housing being delivered by the Consortium, as well as other updated information, now the consortium is in place.
Homes NSW - Housing Design Requirements
For those starting to think about the next stage of the Waterloo redevelopment and talks with the Consortium, the Waterloo site contains some documents which relate generally to social housing design which heading into Waterloo DA discussions you might like to have a look at:

  *   Good design for social housing<https://www.nsw.gov.au/departments-and-agencies/homes-nsw/social-housing-resources/good-design-for-social-housing> NSW Government Architect (September 2020)
  *   Homes NSW dwelling requirements (PDF 590.8KB)<https://www.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/noindex/2025-05/lahc-dwelling-requirements.pdf> NSW Government Architect (September 2020)
  *   NSW Land and Housing Corporation (LAHC) Design Requirements (PDF 235.56KB)<https://www.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/noindex/2025-05/lahc-design-requirements.pdf>  NSW Government Architect (February 2023)
Explorer Street Eveleigh Rezoning Movement
The Explorer Street<https://www.nsw.gov.au/about-nsw/housing-and-infrastructure-projects/social-building-projects/explorer-street-eveleigh-rezoning-and-redevelopment> Eveleigh site has been updated with additional information that says the site will deliver up to 400 new homes with up to 50% being either social or affordable housing. It also says 20% of the affordable housing will be dedicated to Aboriginal people. If the breakup was as, it is in Waterloo, with 30% social and 20% affordable, this would deliver 16 Affordable Aboriginal homes.
As is the case in Waterloo, the South Eveleigh page says "Social housing tenants who are required to relocate in the future will receive at least 6 months written notice before needing to move. Homes NSW will support all impacted tenants to find suitable homes that meet their individual housing needs".
A Voluntary Planning Agreement (VPA) has been negotiated between Homes NSW and the City of Sydney Council, which will see South Sydney Rotary Park transferred to Council upon occupation of the redeveloped site. The rezoning determination is expected in coming months.
The proposed VPA is currently on exhibition by the City of Sydney until 4th August 2025. You can view the draft planning agreement, explanatory note and other exhibition material at Draft planning agreement: Explorer Street, Eveleigh<http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/nsw-government-projects/explorer-street-eveleigh> and send your comments to Brett Calear by email at bcalear at cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au<mailto:bcalear at cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au>.
Planning Changes - Exhibition periods and design Excellence
As covered in the last REDWatch update there are changes proposed to the Department of Planning's Community Participation Plan. The proposal is to reduce the exhibition time on some State Significant sites from 28 days to 14 days. REDWatch has strongly objected to the proposed change and on our website you can see the REDWatch Submission - Changes to reduce Homes NSW exhibitions to 14 Days<http://www.redwatch.org.au/govt/planning/250717redw/view>. REDWatch is aware of submissions raising concerns about this proposal from the City of Sydney Council, Friends of Erskineville and Shelter NSW.
Also being considered by the Planning Department is a State significant developments design competition exemption pathway<https://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/policy-and-legislation/housing/housing-delivery-authority/state-significant-developments-design-competition-exemption-pathway>. This proposal however looks like it will not impact design excellence arrangements in Waterloo as the fact sheet says "It will not provide a bonus of height or floor space that may have been available through a competitive design process". A design excellence bonus of 10% extra floor space, but not height, is proposed for Waterloo.
Understanding the Planning System and Community Participation
With residents sometimes struggling to understand the planning systems and what is in play when, REDWatch encourages community members to read the following guides that provide a Community Guide to Planning<https://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-05/community-guide-to-planning.pdf> and Community Participation Plan<https://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-04/community-participation-plan.pdf>. In the Community Participation Plan it is worthwhile noting that it makes reference to both informal as well as formal feedback. REDWatch encourages early informal input into the planning process and not just relying on the formal exhibition stage. Inviting Stockland to REDWatch meetings early in the process is an important part of this process.
Build a Bridge at Eveleigh Campaign
Discussions continue between REDWatch, Friends of Erskineville and Alexandria Residents Action Group regarding revamping the campaign to bridge Eveleigh. Transport for NSW says it hopes to be able to provide us with possible dates for it to report back to the community on Eveleigh redevelopments and its position on the bridge.
In the meanwhile locals may be interested in this Tech Central Camperdown-Ultimo Place-based Transport Strategy<https://www.future.transport.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-06/tech_central_place_based_transport_strategy.pdf> for future transport needs in the area. It found that the railway corridor added an extra 700 metres to the trip for people walking or biking from Waterloo Metro to Sydney University Darlington campus compared to if a bridge existed (p21) and argued the need to investigate "a new rail corridor crossing between North Eveleigh and Australian Technology Park" (now South Eveleigh on p39).
This Transport Strategy was undertaken in collaboration with Transport for NSW and key stakeholders in the then Camperdown Ultimo Alliance and across the NSW Government. The Alliance was comprised of representatives from the City of Sydney, Inner West Council, Health Infrastructure NSW, Sydney Local Health District, TAFE NSW, University of Sydney and University of Technology Sydney.
It is plain that lots of organisations support the need to build a bridge at Eveleigh not just local residents.
Shelter NSW Walking Tours of The Rocks and Darlinghurst
Shelter NSW has organised some walking tours<https://shelternsw.org.au/events/> with existing groups free of charge that might be of interest to people with an interest in Sydney activist history and housing.
The Rocks - You can book to join Shelter free of charge for 'The Green Bans of the Rocks<https://www.rockswalkingtours.com.au/educational-program/the-green-bans-of-the-rocks/>' walking tour for the following days, but places are limited so book early for Tuesday 26th of August - 12pm<https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/the-green-bans-of-the-rocks-walking-tour-2-tickets-1406907922469?aff=oddtdtcreator> or Thursday 18th of September - 3pm<https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/the-green-bans-of-the-rocks-walking-tour-3-tickets-1406908524269?aff=oddtdtcreator>
Darlinghurst - Guided Walking tours through Darlinghurst are being conducted by QTopia. These "From Grunge to Glamour: A Walk Through Our History" are being held at 2pm on Tuesday 19th August<https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/from-grunge-to-glamour-a-walk-through-our-history-led-by-qtopia-1-tickets-1406909236399?aff=oddtdtcreator>, 3pm on Tuesday 19th August<https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/from-grunge-to-glamour-a-walk-through-our-history-led-by-qtopia-2-tickets-1409742530859?aff=oddtdtcreator>.
The Green Ban movement grew out of trade union action in the 1970s. The Rocks became an important area of confrontation for the local residents who were supported in their protest by equally concerned union and community leaders. The Green Bans were also important in other parts of inner Sydney. In Waterloo they stopped the eastward expansion of the Waterloo high rise public housing estate into the Elizabeth Street Waterloo precinct, as has been captured in Tom Zubrycki's documentary Waterloo<https://www.tomzubrycki.com/films/waterloo>. The 500+ public housing units in the Waterloo conservation area are a legacy of this resident and union collaboration in the Green Bans.
Regards,

Geoff
Geoffrey Turnbull
REDWatch Spokesperson
Ph Wk: (02) 8004 1490  Mob: 0418 457 392
email: spokesperson at redwatch.org.au<mailto:spokesperson at redwatch.org.au>
web: www.redwatch.org.au<http://www.redwatch.org.au/>
FB: www.facebook.com/RedfernEveleighDarlingtonWaterlooWatch/<http://www.facebook.com/RedfernEveleighDarlingtonWaterlooWatch/>


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