SEARMS provides housing and tenancy management services to the Aboriginal Housing Office and other Aboriginal organisations, including local area land councils, in the south eastern region of NSW.
Our current property management portfolio consists of around 400 properties in townships and communities from Nowra down the coast to Wallaga Lake, and across to Queanbeyan, Yass, Young and Goulburn.
Our services include:
- Tenancy management – local, social and affordable tenancies
- Asset management
- Project management
- Housing policy recommendations where applicable – including rent setting and arrears management options for owner organisations
- Residential Property Developer (from 2021)
A core component of our service delivery is in ensuring our tenants have access to supports that assist them in sustaining their tenancies. As such, we work closely with tenant advocacy provider Murra Mia and other locally based health and employment services.
Where possible, we use and promote Aboriginal employment, in our procurement of contractors and services.
Education and consultation with our stakeholders – from tenants, client organisation boards and members through to local service providers – is key to us being able to meet our respective responsibilities and obligations to ensure culturally appropriate and sustainable housing outcomes.
SEARMS is a recognised AHO Growth Provider and became a registered community housing provider under the National Regulatory System for Community Housing (NRSCH) in January 2020.
SEARMS recognises the additional opportunities such registration provides – particularly with attaining our goal to increase the supply of appropriate housing options for our communities.
In June 2020, SEARMS established a second office in Canberra.
In June 2021, SEARMS was successful in it Aboriginal Community Housing Innovation Fund application to build 26 new dwellings in the Far South Coast NSW for itself and behalf of three client Aboriginal corporations. These dwellings are a mix of bushfire rebuilds and new builds.
In July 2021, SEARMS signed a lease for the Batemans Bay Community Centre and relocated our head office to this site to create a housing and community hub.