Daniel Khong

As a young architect I worked on an affordable housing project for a community housing provider in Melbourne 20 years ago. It was an example of mixed-tenure development. I became curious as to why some projects got built while others didn’t and, in particular, what formed the basis of different housing tenures. I realised that, while design was important, there were other factors at play.

Motivated to get to the bottom of what makes good projects happen, my career moved from design to development and finance of projects in a search for how to deliver better outcomes. Along the way I’ve worked in the public and private sectors, in property and infrastructure, and two years ago established my own business. 

I run a boutique development advisory firm. In housing, we work with clients – community housing providers, public sector agencies, and a range of financiers – on the commercial arrangements and finance for social and affordable housing projects. This is usually for new developments, but sometimes also relates to strategy for programs and portfolios.

It’ll be no surprise to anyone that housing has become increasingly unaffordable in Australia. What’s different today is that there is now a growing proportion of our population who cannot afford to buy a home but earn too much to qualify for subsidised housing, and are not well served longer term in the private rental market. We have no model for this growing group of both younger and older Australians, but there are examples we can learn from in North America and Europe – and this is what I’ll be investigating for the Churchill Fellowship. 

I believe a more resilient 21st century Australia requires a more diverse housing system than we currently have, and I am motivated to help build that out.