St Joseph Affordable Homes Newsletter – Edition 2 2025
As we come back from the Easter break, we want to take a moment to thank each and every one of you for your hard work and dedication. We are grateful for the commitment that our staff, contractors, and supporters bring to our organisation every day.
We hope you all enjoyed the Easter break and took the time to rest, recuperate, and spend quality time with your loved ones.
We take this opportunity to recognise the passing of Pope Francis. We are saddened by his passing and continue to draw inspiration from his life and ministry, as he always showed great concern for those in need.
In this newsletter, we have several important updates and highlights to share, including exciting news about upcoming events, safety updates, and celebrations of our team’s achievements. We also provide insights into our ongoing projects and the progress we are making together
Celebrating Diversity in Trades
International Women’s Day was held on the 8th of March. This year we celebrated the invaluable contributions of women in construction by visiting our sites, sharing sweet treats, and having conversations about the importance of diversity in trades.
At St Joseph Affordable Homes, we are thrilled to report that in 2025, 16% of our workforce “on the tools” are women. This is a significant achievement compared to the national average of just 3% (2023). However, we recognise that there is still much work to be done.
We continue to recognise the talent and contributions of women in construction. Our commitment remains steadfast in building a workplace where everyone feels safe, welcome, and empowered to grow their careers.
As an organisation dedicated to supporting everyone to succeed in construction and breaking down employment barriers, we were excited to meet with Logan and Jasmyn from The Go Company in March. Their work in providing essential sanitary solutions and basic hygiene to the construction industry is truly inspiring. While we already have dedicated male and female toilets plumbed in and maintained on our sites, we acknowledge that there is always more we can do to improve our sites for everyone. We were fortunate to receive one of the GO Bags as winners of the Housing Industry Association (HIA) Tasmania’s Medium Professional Builder award. We are proud to share that we will be implementing GO Bags on our sites.
At St Joseph Affordable Homes, we are committed to continuous improvement and inclusivity. We believe that by working together, we can create a more diverse and supportive environment for all. Let’s continue to build a future where everyone in the construction industry can thrive.
Supporting SeeHER
Further to the above, St Joseph Affordable Homes is proud to be supporting SeeHER – a four-part program designed to inspire, support, and retain women in construction, creating more opportunities for them to thrive.
This initiative is being delivered by Master Builders and is supported by the Federal Government’s Building Women’s Careers Program and delivered in partnership with Loreto Community Housing, St Joseph Affordable Homes, and EPIC – Empowering People In Construction.
100% of Staff Now Trained in Mandatory Reporting and Reportable Conduct
As a child safe organisation, we conduct annual mandatory reporting and reportable conduct training. 100% of St Joseph Affordable Homes employees have now undertaken this training, not just those working with young people, but in all areas of the organisation.
As a Child & Youth Safe Organisation, we put the safety and wellbeing of children and young people at the centre of all actions we take and decisions we make. To do this, our policies, procedures, and the services we provide are aligned with the Child & Youth Safe Organisations Framework.
The Framework sets out clear expectations for how we prioritise and promote the safety and wellbeing of children and young people, and how we respond when there are concerns about a worker’s behaviour towards children and young people.
Thank you to Julian and the team at Build Up Tassie for their ongoing support in training and wellbeing.
Apprentice Updates
Congratulations to Zeke Sharman and Sean Robb who have officially completed their apprenticeship and have qualified in their respective trades.
Zeke is now a qualified carpenter. He has gained full time employment at Podmatrix Modular Homes.
Sean is now a qualified plumber and will continue in his employment with Vince Plumbing.
We couldn’t be more proud of what they have achieved over the past four years, they have both been fantastic assets to the St Joseph Affordable Homes team. We will be recognising all of our upcoming apprentice graduates at a celebration in May.
HIA-CSR Australian Housing Awards Finalists
We are pleased to share that St Joseph Affordable Homes has been announced as a finalist in multiple categories in the HIA-CSR Australian Housing Awards. These are:
Professional Medium Builder/Renovator
Specialised Housing – Hobart Women’s Shelter
We say a heartfelt thank you to all of our staff, board, partners, contactors, suppliers, and stakeholders for your contributions to St Joseph Affordable Homes. Your support is what allows us to see great success while working towards our dual purpose of providing substantial and sustainable employment opportunities for young Tasmanians with barriers to employment, and alleviating housing stress and homelessness.
We look forward to sending a small party of representatives to the National HIA Conference and Awards in May.
Work Health & Safety
HAZARDCO
At St Joseph Affordable Homes we are committed to maintaining the highest standards of safety and compliance for all employees, contractors, and visitors to our sites. To support this, we use HazardCo, a site safety-specific app to manage all our site related activities.
Check In
ALL individuals entering a St Joseph Affordable Homes site are required to sign in and sign out using the HazardCo app which you can download for free from your Play or App store. You will be required to create a free account to use HazardCo. Please contact Katie on 0473 089 213 or katiew@aohtas.org.au if you would like assistance.
Safe Work Method Statements (SWMS)
As a guest log in you can also create a SWMS on HazardCo which can be sent directly to the St Joseph Affordable Homes site supervisor electronically. You can also save your SWMS as a template ready to use on the next job. Please reach out to Katie for more information.
Project Highlight – Franklin Street Triabunna
We have officially broken ground on a 36 unit development in Triabunna, delivered in partnership with Loreto Community Housing and the East Coast Anglican Parish. 31 units will be a mix of social and affordable homes to increase the housing stock in regional areas. Five will be returned to the local parish.
Our Projects
149 homes and 1 commercial project are currently under construction or are recently completed:
- Nielsen Esp, Bridgewater – 8 dwellings
- Weilly Pl, Bridgewater – 1 dwelling
- Home Ave, Blackmans Bay – 7 dwellings
- Kent St and View St, Geeveston – 20 dwellings
- Cambridge Rd, Cambridge – 9 dwellings
- Franklin St, Triabunna – 36 dwellings
- George Town Road, Newnham – 49 dwellings
- Paice St, Bridgewater – 1 commercial project
- Agnes St, Ranelagh – 9 dwellings (delayed)
- Faraday St, Ravenswood – 10 dwellings (delayed)
Future projects:
- McLeod St, New Norfolk – 10 dwellings
- Aquilla St, Glenorchy – 9 dwellings
- Franklin St, Campbell Town – 5 dwellings
- Hayfield Pl, Bridgewater – 56 dwellings
- Drummond Cr, Perth – 15 dwellings
