NSW Aboriginal housing provider back in member hands
The Registrar of Indigenous Corporations, Selwyn Button, has today announced the end of the special administration of Many Rivers Regional Housing Management Services Aboriginal Corporation (MRRH).
MRRH was established in 2008 and is located in Port Macquarie, New South Wales. It manages 495 rental properties primarily in the Macleay Valley area. But it’s no ordinary property management agency—100 per cent of management fees collected are reinvested into services and assistance for the communities they work with.
The Registrar placed MRRH under special administration from April to November 2018. However diminishing confidence by NSW Aboriginal Housing Office in the incoming board’s effectiveness and performance led to the Registrar again placing MRRH under special administration on 11 February 2019.
The special administrator has worked closely with the NSW housing statutory authority to address previous concerns about non-compliance.
Part of this work included a full portfolio review. Safety, compliance and property repairs all featured as major issues—electrical issues were fixed in 32 per cent of properties; smoke detectors replaced in 26 per cent; and a total of 1,119 maintenance issues were attended to.
‘Ensuring tenants are safe and living in quality housing is at the heart of the corporation’s objectives,’ said Mr Button. ‘The special administrator has worked tirelessly with the advisory committee and staff of the corporation to identify and fix matters that to ensure a sustainable and successful future for the corporation.’
The special administrator has built a strong team to oversee the corporation’s governance including two specialist non-member directors.
The Registrar’s office will monitor the corporation over the next 12 months and offer governance training for the corporation’s new directors.
Mr Button said, ‘Corporate governance is about building an effective system of decision-making and internal controls to maximise value for corporation members. Through improving housing and portfolio management strategies, the MRRH team are demonstrating what can be achieved to improve the overall wellbeing of Aboriginal communities’.
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