Australia has a worker housing shortage. Companies are turning to old infrastructure for solutions

In Falls Creek in Victoria's High Country, Kate Moegel has needed to rent two entire ski lodges to keep her business open.

Ms Moegel said the accommodation is not ideal, especially when the business tries to encourage workers to stay all year round. The privately owned development, construction and funds management company has stepped heavily into the worker accommodation market. "We need these beds for the staff, so that those businesses — like hospitality venues — know exactly the hours they can run," she said.The Grollo Group has a long lease at the Bogong Village site and last year bought Mt Hotham Airport, with a view to housing hundreds of staff for the nearby ski resort by winter in 2026.

With Grollo Group estimating a cost of around $100,000 per bed, it sees the potential to have a $1 billion business, based on building 10,000 beds, spreading into different regions across Australia. What is clear is that Australia has far less than it used to and a much smaller percentage of supported housing as a share of overall dwellings.Vienna is often pointed to as a Western city that is getting housing right."If you worked in construction, if you were a public servant, if you were a teacher, you often had housing provided to you by the government.

At a February sod-turning ceremony to mark the launch of a 135-apartment project in Zetland, near Sydney's key airport, Aware Super chief executive Deanne Stewart said funds could play an important role in "providing such crucial infrastructure", while still making good money for members. Brendan Stewart is someone who has benefited from the new approaches in Falls Creek, once the possums were cleared out.

He and colleagues in the 'Chef House' are delighted with the place, which has an outdoor deck and more space. Developers like Assemble can use the mega-funds available to invest at scale, building more and larger projects. Many of the units are sold at the market price - whatever they can raise at sale or auction - with a proportion kept to be rented at below-market rate.

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