Advocacy and Partnership

Council can take a leading role in providing information about local and sub-regional housing needs, bringing regional stakeholders together or advocating on behalf of the local community, through the following types of actions:

• promoting the Local Housing Strategy (or council’s range of housing initiatives) locally, taking active steps to build local interest and support for housing objectives, and publicising progress in achieving these objectives, through: 
  - media releases about the need for certain types of housing within the community, or about new housing initiatives
  -  official openings of housing projects, design competitions for projects incorporating affordable housing 
  - sponsorship of housing seminars open to the public, encouraging local schools to undertake projects relating to housing
  - offering awards for local housing initiatives;
• contributing to broader initiatives to achieve housing objectives at sub regional, regional, or state levels. (This may involve activities as diverse as participating in the investigation and development of private financing options, providing housing related input to regional planning strategies, or working with the real estate and boarding house sectors to examine encouragements for rental and boarding house accommodation at the local or sub regional level); 
• reviewing council’s brochures, public documents and website to ensure that opportunities to promote council’s objectives and strategies for housing are appropriately incorporated;
• educating developers about more appropriate and environmentally sustainable housing types.