Canberra’s pioneering disability homeownership program is mounting a major multi-state expansion, taking its ACT-proven framework to Victoria, QLD and NSW.

Founded 14 years ago to address the acute shortage of accessible housing for people with intellectual disabilities, Project Independence is scaling up on the back of successful developments across three Canberra sites.

The non-profit has secured its first interstate site in Glen Huntly, Melbourne, with development approval already granted, while active land searches and stakeholder talks are underway in Geelong, Sydney, Toowoomba and the Sunshine Coast.

The national push comes amid a historic housing crisis that founder Glenn Keys AO says has locked Disability Support Pension (DSP) recipients out of the private market entirely.

“Already when we started Project Independence 14 years ago, people with intellectual disability had the lowest rates of home ownership of any sector in the country. Today, in the midst of a housing crisis, it’s only gotten worse,” he said.

“Anglicare’s Rental Affordability Study last year showed only 0.1 per cent of the 43,000 dwellings it surveyed were rentable with the Disability Support Pension. This year that’s down to 0.03 per cent of 46,000 to 49,000 houses — the equivalent of 17 houses. Then you factor in whether those rentals are close to public transport and their jobs, and that figure becomes zero.

“In the whole of Victoria, there is not one property for anyone on the DSP with an intellectual disability to buy. They simply can’t afford it; not even to rent it.”

Demand for a solution is surging nationwide. From a parents’ committee in Melbourne and a local MP in Geelong to a Sydney developer and a hopeful family on the Sunshine Coast, advocates across Australia are calling for the same breakthrough: access to Canberra’s proven model enabling adults with intellectual disabilities to own their own homes.

“We’re looking at locations based on various groups approaching us,” Mr Keys said. “The demand is very high. It seems everyone wants to make this happen.”

Development approval has been granted to refurbish the Glen Huntly property into 10 units and a residence for a live-in coordinator who handles shared meals and common-area cleaning. The site already has a 200-person waitlist, with the non-profit actively targeting state funding, philanthropy and alternative revenue streams to secure financing by next year.

Beyond Melbourne, the organisation aims to secure a block in Geelong within 18 months, followed by expansions into Toowoomba and the Sunshine Coast within two years.

Despite strong momentum, the expansion faces systemic hurdles.

The organisation is lobbying State and Federal governments to formally recognise its “progressive home ownership” approach alongside established structures such as build-to-rent.

“One problem we face is as a new and innovative model, we’re not built into the fabric of housing solutions in Australia. All the funding is for established models. That’s the danger of being the first to do something,” Mr Keys said.

“We started here in Canberra, we led the model, and after 14 years in Canberra, wouldn’t it be wonderful if the ACT was the first to recognise progressive home ownership as a model?”

Beneath the regulatory struggle lies a track record that is hard to dispute. Across its 30 existing homes in the ACT, Project Independence has provided a launchpad for residents to build equity and transition into broader community living. To date, 17 residents have successfully used the program as a stepping stone to enter the broader homeownership market.

“That’s absolute proof the model works,” Mr Keys said.

“There is good news to be had. But our success in Canberra was the result of government, industry and community coming together to develop a solution that works. The ACT government gave us the land, charitable businesses stepped up, and so did the community.

“To recreate that elsewhere, we need everyone to chip in.”

For more information, visit Project Independence.