The New South Wales government has delivered almost 300 modern homes across regional communities to house frontline teachers and police officers, addressing chronic housing shortages that hinder essential worker recruitment.
The AU$165 million Key Worker Housing Program has funded 221 homes for educators and 69 for police personnel across more than 90 regional towns.
With over 80 per cent of the 290 homes already completed, the rollout spans from major regional centres like Broken Hill to smaller isolated townships including Trundle, Tambar Springs, and Bourke.
To expedite construction in hard-to-reach locations, Homes NSW deployed Modern Methods of Construction, including prefabricated and modular designs, to deliver 58 of the properties.
The program has also injected more than $55 million directly into regional economies by engaging local trades, builders, and material suppliers.
Deputy Premier and Minister for Education Prue Car said that secure housing is fundamental to filling regional classroom vacancies.
“Ensuring public schools in regional communities have the teachers they need is essential to providing students with the high-quality education they deserve,” Car said, adding that affordable homes help reduce teacher vacancies across the state.
Minister for Police Yasmin Catley noted that providing quality accommodation works hand-in-hand with recruitment programs like the state’s ‘Be a cop in your hometown’ initiative, ensuring officers have stable living conditions when deployed.
Housing Minister Rose Jackson added that regional communities cannot retain staff without adequate shelter.
“You can’t recruit police officers and teachers if there’s nowhere for them to live,” Jackson said.
“To deliver 290 homes teacher and police homes across regional NSW in just over four years, including in some of the most remote parts of the state, is a significant achievement and shows what’s possible when government invests in the infrastructure communities need.”
With the initial 290-home footprint nearing final completion, Homes NSW has commenced cross-agency consultations to outline future key worker housing requirements.
The rollout complements the state government’s broader AU$6.6 billion Building Homes for NSW program, which targets thousands of public, affordable, and social housing builds statewide.
