Suncorp invests in disability housing

The fund will address the substantial undersupply of housing for people living with a disability, with the support of the Federal Government's National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

It's estimated that approximately 16,000 NDIS participants currently live in some form of specialist disability housing, with approximately 80% of these needing upgrading or redevelopment within ten years. An additional 12,000 people currently have no access to much-needed specialist disability housing.

Suncorp Executive Manager for Investment Sustainability Greg Liddell was the driving force behind this investment and said the social benefits were a key factor in deciding to invest in the fund.

“This will be a key development in the evolution of disability support services in Australia, so we want to play our part to support it,” Mr Liddell said.

“Suncorp Group Investments acts on what we care about. In line with our Responsible Investment Policy, we can use our investments to create value and generate positive social and environmental outcomes.

“We’re increasingly looking for opportunities for social impact investing, and Social Ventures Australia and Federation Asset Management, who partnered in establishing the fund, are established, credible organisations, who have demonstrated they will be able to measure and report on the social benefits from this fund, as well as provide us with a financial return.”

Executive Director for Impact Investing at Social Ventures Australia Michael Lynch said all Australians living with a disability should have access to quality housing that is suitable for their care needs.

"For this to be achieved, significant investment in new housing is required and the Government has designed the Specialist Disability Accommodation allowance to attract this investment, which we estimate at could be over $10 billion," Mr Lynch said.

"The Synergis Fund aims to invest $1 billion over the next five years to create housing for over 2,000 Australians that currently do not have access to appropriate housing. 

"The support of Suncorp is a significant endorsement for Synergis and critical for catalysing investment into the space."

Good Housing is one of the SDA providers and developers working with the Synergis Fund. Sam Graiche, Good Housing Co-Founder and Head of Housing Innovation, said: "With the support of Synergis and Suncorp, we're enabling extraordinary lives through specialist disability housing. We're on a mission to build 50 homes in the next three years, which means we have the chance to significantly improve up to 200 lives."