Aestra was engaged by ACT Housing in the ACT Community Services Directorate (CSD) to develop the Strategic Investment Plan for the homelessness sector and support development of the associated homelessness business case.

In 2022, the ACT Government committed to a new way of working with the ACT homelessness sector, people with a lived experience of homelessness, and other key stakeholders, to plan for future homelessness service delivery and contractual arrangements. This new way of working together is referred to as ‘commissioning’.

Through the commissioning engagement process undertaken from January to June 2022, the ACT Government heard it was important to work more closely with the homelessness sector to change the way services are designed and delivered. Building on the key insights from the commissioning engagement, CSD commenced the next phase of commissioning, which included the development of a Strategic Investment Plan.

The Strategic Investment Plan was to outline outcomes of the commissioning engagement process, the ACT Government’s intentions for investment in the homelessness sector, and information about the proposed approach and indicative timeframes for investment. The Strategic Investment Plan was to be underpinned by a whole-of-government submission, which included a homelessness business case.

The Strategic Investment Plan was released by the ACT Minister for Housing and Suburban Development and the ACT Minister for Homelessness in October 2022, and the homelessness business case was used to successfully bid for funding in the 2023–24 budget.

Photo credit: Juanmonino, 2021.