Synergis fund completes second close securing $26.5m for new disability housing

The capital will be used to build homes for over 100 Australians living with disability through investments in new quality Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) with a pipeline of investments already identified.

The Synergis Fund was established by Social Ventures Australia (SVA) and Federation Asset Management to help deliver much needed housing for people with disabilities and is targeting $1billion in investments over the next five years.

The National Disability Insurance Agency estimates that $5 billion in capital is needed to provide SDA for 12,000 participants to meet the NDIS goals.

Michael Lynch, Executive Director of Impact Investing at SVA said: “We’re thrilled to have completed the second close of the Synergis Fund at $26.5 million capital raised. It’s early days but this is an important milestone for the Fund.

“The Synergis model is built on putting people first. It will deliver high quality homes in a broad range of housing types for people who greatly need them, where they need them. This will provide improved social outcomes for residents and systemic change in the disability housing sector in Australia,” he said.

They have partnered with disability service providers in the new developments to ensure that tenants have the support and choice they need which will have the added benefit of greater tenancy security and enhance financial returns for investors.

Jason Walter, Head of Real Estate at Federation Asset Management added: “We’re delighted by the response from investors despite the current unpredictable environment and we’re confident of the growth potential in this sector. Investors have shown they are too. ”

Synergis Fund is a unique scalable investment opportunity in a sector supported by Commonwealth Government payments and we hope this Fund enables Government to fulfil its commitment of $700 million for SDA payments annually.

“As a strong market with increasing demand, there is great potential to work with other interested investors in the short to medium term,” Jason said.

According to a report released last month by SVA and Summer Foundation, close  to 3,000 SDA places have been built or are now in the pipeline but demand is growing.

Early investors in the Synergis Fund include industry superfund HESTA, Suncorp, Paul Ramsay Foundation, and clients of Australian Impact Investments.

HESTA CEO Debby Blakey said. “HESTA has a long standing and strong commitment to investing in vital social  infrastructure; and we’ve committed $70 million to our Social Impact Investment Trust (SIIT), which is managed by SVA. HESTA’s SIIT invests in opportunities that deliver both a financial return for our members as well as a measurable social impact.”

“A key goal of HESTA’s impact investment program is to encourage other large investors to make similar investments; we believe there’s a huge untapped potential for the financial sector to both invest for a return and make a difference,” Debby said.

“We’re very pleased to be working with SVA and Federation to increase investments in the burgeoning disability housing sector. Investing in the health and community service sector, where the majority of HESTA members work, will have the dual outcome of addressing the shortage in disability housing and also creating jobs and opportunities for our members,” she said.

The Synergis Fund is partnering with SDA providers such as Good Housing, Chapter 2, SDA Qld and Illowra Projects and currently has approximately 50 properties under development or in the pipeline in locations across Queensland, NSW and Victoria.

Over the next three years, Synergis Fund and Illowra Projects alone are targeting 50 new disability housing projects, with the potential to assist up to 200 people in need of housing.

Completion of the Fund’s first homes are due in June 2020.

Pearl Dy

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Pearl Dy is a community manager and journalist. She is passionate about business and development particularly involving not-for-profits, charity and social entrepreneurship.

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