Stakeholder communications and support

Core and Cluster Sector Capacity and Capability Building Program

DCJ is committed to the growth of the housing and homelessness sector. Supporting the involvement of sector organisations is critical to the success of the Core and Cluster Program. 

The Sector Capacity and Capability Building Program aligns with DCJ’s sector development priorities and responds to feedback received in the Core and Cluster Stakeholder Engagement Sessions held in May and June 2022.

A key aim of the Sector Capacity and Capability Building Program is to ensure organisations are able to assess readiness and participate, as appropriate, in Core and Cluster procurement.

The NSW Government has invested over $2 million in this initiative. It is being delivered by the Aboriginal Community Housing Industry Association (ACHIA) NSW and the Homelessness Industry Partnership, which includes Homelessness NSW (HNSW) and Domestic Violence NSW (DVNSW).

Further information is provided in the Core & Cluster Sector Capacity and Capacity Building Program fact sheet (PDF, 257.2 KB) (PDF, 257.2 KB). 

In addition to the support services noted within the fact sheet, initiatives include grants, sector engagement and capacity building, including:

• Grants up to $20,000 for organisations who require one-off financial support to effectively plan and participate in Core and Cluster procurement;
• Sector engagement including consortium workshops and resources for partnership development; and
• Targeted local government engagement.
• Support will be available through ACHIA’s Coolamon Project (ACHIA NSW’s Incubator-Accelerator) to develop a customised Core and Cluster support package, to assist Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs, ACCO partnerships or Aboriginal led consortia).

Grants

Up to $500,000 worth of grants will be administered by HNSW in partnership with DVNSW, on behalf of the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ), for organisations to build capacity to tender for Core and Cluster funded projects.

Grants are open to all organisations applying for Core and Cluster funding, with priority to be given to Aboriginal community-controlled organisations, regional based projects and smaller organisations. 

Applications for grant funding opened 30 September 2022. For more information, eligibility criteria and to apply for grant funding please refer to the HNSW website.

Sector engagement

In-person Town Hall Forums and one-on-one support sessions to interested services across NSW.

As each region and service is different the Town Hall Forum discussions aim to get a better understanding of support requirements to enhance capacity building activities related to Core and Cluster. 

The one-on-one meetings will enable services to ask specific queries and receive support, advice and linkage to relevant service industries.

Please refer to the Upcoming Events on the HNSW website for where and when there are planned local community consultations and / or to schedule a one-on-one consultation.

Local government engagement

A local government webinar briefing on Core and Cluster for mayors, councillors, planners and council housing professionals was delivered on 26 September 2022 with speakers from Local Government NSW, DCJ, HNSW, and ACHIA. A recording of the webinar is available online.

For any further information or questions about the initiative to be delivered by the sector peaks, please email SectorSupport@homelessnessnsw.org.au.

Connecting with potential partners by registering interest

To support the establishment of partnerships in the delivery of the Core and Cluster program, a process to register interest has been established for parties interested to connect with potential partners that are either:

• service providers requiring a partner to deliver on the 4 components of the Core and Cluster Program (land, asset, maintenance and service delivery); and
• parties interested in being approached to be a partner in Core and Cluster delivery (e.g. local councils, land holders, construction companies, Specialist Homelessness Services, Community Housing Providers, or Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations).

If your organisation would like to be placed on the register of parties interested to partner, please refer to the fact sheet and complete the form (DOCX, 153.8 KB) within. Email the completed form to SHSProgram@facs.nsw.gov.au.

Please also note the conditions, considerations, and details on how to submit your interest to DCJ prior to submitting your completed form.

Enquiries about LAHC-owned land

Land and Housing Corporation (LAHC) have a standard enquiries portal, regarding LAHC-owned land. The option ‘All CHP proposals to purchase, sell or redevelop property' should be selected so that enquiries are efficiently directed to the correct team.

Tranche 2 briefing sessions

Briefing sessions were held to provide information about the Tranche 2 Expression of Interest (EOI) and the Tranche 2 Aboriginal-led EOI on Tuesday 16 August and Wednesday 17 August, respectively. The briefings provided interested stakeholders  with an overview of the Core and Cluster Program and the Tranche 2 procurement process.

The recording and transcript for the Tranche 2 EOI and Aboriginal-led EOI have been published on the eTendering website.

Responses to questions submitted to SHSProgram@facs.nsw.gov.au regarding the Tranche 2 EOI processes will made available as an addendum on the NSW eTendering site. This process will apply for future tranches.

Tranche 1 EOI briefing session

A briefing session was held on Wednesday 8 June 2022 to provide information about the Tranche 1 Expressions of Interest (EOI) process for stakeholders interested in submitting a proposal.

Questions and answers from the session were made available as an addendum on the NSW e-Tendering site and this process will apply for future tranches.