The NSW Aboriginal Housing Office (AHO) is a

statutory authority A statutory body or statutory authority is a body set up by law (statute) that is authorised to implement certain legislation on behalf of the relevant country or state, sometimes by being empowered or delegated to set rules (for example reg ...

within NSW Department of Family and Community Services in the

Government of New South Wales The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the executive state government of New South Wales, Australia. The government comprises 11 portfolios, led by a ministerial department and supported by several agencies. Th ...

that is responsible for the planning, development, delivery and evaluation of programs and services to support Aboriginal people in meeting their housing needs in the state of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia. The authority was established pursuant to the ''Aboriginal Housing Act 1998''
!---adding this link because the template doesn't lead to the legislation.---> and is led by its chief executive, presently, Famey Williams, who reports to an independent board that is ultimately responsible to the Minister for Families and Communities, presently the Hon. Natasha Maclaren-Jones MLC.

Purpose and function

In exercising its principal functions, the AHO is required to; *liaise with other government agencies and non-government bodies in the delivery of Aboriginal housing programs and services, *coordinate Aboriginal housing programs and services with other programs and services that are provided by government agencies (including Commonwealth agencies) and non-government bodies to assist Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders, *develop priorities for Aboriginal housing programs and services in accordance with the objects of the Act, *advise the Minister on Aboriginal housing policy, *develop and implement strategies for the employment of Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders in the delivery of Aboriginal housing programs and services. The AHO works with the NSW Office of Community Housing and Housing NSW through their roles as complementary providers of social housing and their joint development of regional strategies for housing assistance. The AHO has contractual arrangements with Housing NSW for the provision of services including procurement, and tenancy and asset management.

History

The ''Aboriginal Housing Act (NSW)'' was passed by the

Parliament of New South Wales The Parliament of New South Wales, formally the Legislature of New South Wales, (definition of "The Legislature") is the bicameral legislative body of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW). It consists of the Monarch, the New South Wa ...

on 26 June 1998 and the NSW Aboriginal Housing Office was established on 24 July 1998. The passing of the act acknowledged the NSW government's commitment to the management, development and reform of the Aboriginal housing sector in NSW and established the AHO as the single administrative agency for delivering housing and housing-related programs across New South Wales. Lyall Munro Snr was an inaugural member of the NSW Aboriginal Housing Office and the AHO Regional Aboriginal Housing Committee.

References

External links

Aboriginal Housing Office – website
NSW Government {{Authority control 1998 establishments in Australia Government agencies established in 1998 Indigenous Australians in New South Wales Government agencies of New South Wales Housing in Australia