On 2-3 December 2025, the Department of Housing and Works (DHW) and the Council of Aboriginal Services Western Australia (CASWA) co-hosted the 2025 Aboriginal Housing Conference WA: Organisational Capacity Building and Development.
Building on the momentum of the 2023 Sector Strengthening Summit, the Conference focused on capacity building, strengthening our collective ability to deliver culturally safe, community-led housing.
More than 45 representatives from Aboriginal organisations across WA attended the two-day event, which opened with a Welcome to Wadjuk Boodja by Dr Glenda Kickett and cultural navigation by Sharon Wood-Kenney.
Highlights included:
- Sector yarning: Participants shared organisational needs, successes and challenges, with a focus on upscaling and innovation.
- Department engagement: DHW Director General Leon McIvor provided an introduction the new department, which was followed by an Executive Leadership Q&A panel.
- Co-design workshop: Participants provided input to inform the development of an Aboriginal Outcomes Framework for WA under the National Agreement on Social Housing and Homelessness.
- Industry updates: Shelter WA's Chief Executive Officer Kath Snell outlined the WA Government's $6 million Community Housing Capacity-Building Program, and National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Housing Association's (NATSIHA) WA Board Director Tina Ugle shared NATSIHA's ongoing work as part of the National Housing Policy Partnership.
- Training and growth: NATSIHA delivered governance training, after which participants learnt more about WA's community housing registration process, with yarning led by DHW's Community Housing Registration Office and a lived-experience panel featuring leaders from WA's three registered Aboriginal providers - Southern Aboriginal Corporation, Murchison Region Aboriginal Corporation and Noongar Mia Mia.
The Conference was serviced by WA Aboriginal businesses including Aboriginal Interpreting WA (translations), Gather Foods (catering), JERP Services (artwork), and Perception Is OUR Truth (cultural navigation).
Funding assistance was made available to eligible regional and remote organisations to support their participation in the Conference.
