In this section
You are here:

Project overview

Why is the project being rolled out?

Access to affordable housing has been identified by the Town as a key to future economic and trade development. Currently, Hedland’s housing crisis is a handbrake on economic growth.

Securing affordable housing is a key to attracting and retaining workers in sectors such as education, tourism, childcare, retail and hospitality.

Individuals in these sectors often earn low or moderate incomes compared to those in the mining sector, and are also more likely to be casual or part-time employees.

The Town of Port Hedland has made service worker housing a priority over the next five years, to increase liveability and support residential growth in Hedland.

The Town has identified a 2.64 hectare block of land on Cottier Drive, South Hedland, as a potential site and has developed concept plans for a 76-house development.

Housing By The Numbers

  • Relative to regional WA, there is a current deficit of 1031 service workers in Hedland. Without intervention, this is expected to increase to 1444 by 2031.
  • Average rent across Port Hedland is $1000 per week compared to $544 across regional WA.
  • Average rents have increased 20% p.a in Port Hedland and 36% p.a in South Hedland since 2020.
  • Housing supply has grown 0.2% p.a since 2017.
  • There have been nine building approvals in the Town of Port Hedland between June 2022-April 2023.
  • $7.2 billion in aggregate capital expenditure for large new infrastructure projects is expected to further exacerbate the issue in the coming years.

 

CONCEPT PLAN

Community impact assessment

The Town commissioned a Socio-Economic Impact Assessment which articulates the benefits of the South Hedland Service Worker Housing project.

It illustrates the following benefits to the Hedland community:

Economic

  • $19 million increase p.a to the Port Hedland economy
  • $152.4 million in total benefits to the Hedland community
  • $16.6m in labour cost savings
  • 2.5% reduction in rental prices

Community

  • The project has the potential to reduce the social and community service worker gap by circa 12.6%, alleviating pressure on community services including childcare and NFP sectors.
  • The project has the potential to unlock an enhanced offering of rental services via the expansion of operating hours and/or the delivery of new, or extension of existing, anchor or specialty stores.
  • The project has the potential to provide additional volunteering with a value equivalent to $70,230 p.a to the Town of Port Hedland.
  • A more stable and permanent resident population will enable the development and/or reestablishment of community groups and services in addition to contributing to greater business confidence.
  • The project has the potential to further increase community diversity.
  • Local participation in sport to increase by 100 people.

For more information on the South Hedland Service Worker Housing project click this link