General News
12 May, 2026
Council sells off housing
COUNCIL-owned community houses in the region will be sold to a Bundaberg-based housing provider to own and manage, subject to final approval by the state government.
Cassowary Coast Regional Council has announced in a media release that it had accepted an internal council panel’s recommendation to appoint community housing provider, Regional Housing Ltd, to take over full responsibility for 10 properties.
The move is part of council’s plan to “divest” its community housing portfolio, which it advertised last October and invited expressions of interest from registered community housing providers to buy the properties and manage them.
Those expressions for the first stage of divestment involved one and two bedroom units (16 in total), six duplexes and four houses in Innisfail, as well as five units and a house in Tully – with council estimating savings of more than $50,000 a year.
Council recently told The Observer none of its Cardwell properties were for sale just yet.
In its latest release, council said: “This divestment aligns with the council’s corporate plan and local housing action plan 2024-2029 to ensure housing services are provided by experienced and specialised providers that can apply their expertise to sustainably grow the community housing network and ensure more people have a place to call home.”
Mayor Teresa Millwood said Regional Housing Ltd’s submission showed they were a “highly capable organisation with a strong regional focus” and had the systems and experience needed to achieve effective, sustained and scalable outcomes.
“Regional Housing Ltd is an impressive applicant with a strong track record of housing development in a significant number of regional areas across Queensland, to a high standard,” Cr Millwood said.
“Their submission highlighted a strong commitment to the Cassowary Coast region, with an existing development application in the pipeline, employment of a dedicated housing officer from day one of the transfer of the portfolio and the opening of a local office that will employ additional staff as the regional portfolio grows,” she said.
“We will work very closely with the incumbent and new provider to ensure there are minimal disruptions for tenants, that tenants’ rights are protected in accordance with existing policies and legislation and that prospective new tenants benefit from new community housing coming online in the future.
“Supporting the growth of community housing in our region and ensuring more people have a place to call home is part of our vision for ensuring the Cassowary Coast is the most liveable tropical community.”
Council said there was strong interest in acquiring the community housing, with 13 applicants making submissions and all passing the first stage of the process. Stage two involved an assessment of the nine applicants that made detailed submissions.
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