The Yarra-wide public housing committee celebrated the new governance structure during housing week in early November. Representatives were announced, food was shared and entertainment enjoyed. Here is a snippet from some of those representatives. Photos and video from the night up soon.

What is the Yarra wide public housing residents board?

The Vision : “Embracing and Advancing Our Community in the City of Yarra”

The new governance structure will bring about change. The individual housing estates have been seen as separate and unique. They have been approached and managed in this way. Now, with this governance structure, they will be unique contributors to a coordinated approach that recognises not only the differences but also a shared.

Yarra-wide Public Housing Resident Board Purpose

• To represent and advocate the agenda of the three public housing estate communities;
• To provide a strategic Yarra wide direction for public housing communities;
• To provide a variety of Yarra wide project opportunities for communities and individuals; and
•To work with local governance groups to ensure both the strategic and local needs of the communities are meet;
• Continue to develop in conjunction with other key stakeholders, the Yarra-wide Public Housing Resident governance model; and
• To continue to foster a strong partnership approach with a variety of organisation and services.

Functions
• To participate in the development and completion of the Governance Model;
• To develop and implementation of City Wide community plan;
• To be responsible for the management, development and delivery of a Yarra wide communication plan;
• To set-up and support the project groups and local Estate based groups;
• Negotiate with key stakeholders to progress priorities for the Yarra estate communities and local governance groups;
• To liaise with HAF (Place Management Group & Leadership Group) to ensure synergies between the projects;
• To organize, support and drive the projects across City of Yarra; and
• To pursue City wide funding opportunities and assistance local groups to source local funding.

Membership
• Membership should reflect the make-up of the proposed “new” board.
• Numbers 21 Configuration of Group Resident members Each estate based governance group elects residents to be on the Yarra-wide Group.
• Richmond 3
• Fitzroy 3
• Collingwood 3 Member Partners]

• Department Human Services (DHS) – Regional and Central
• City of Yarra (CoY)]
• Department Planning & Community Development (DPCD) – through the local community engagement resource
• Department of Justice (DoJ) – Police and Central Justice Co-opt members

Others as required Project Groups

The neighbourhood projects will provide the vehicle that drive identified projects, activities and issues identified in the community plan, matters identified by community or evolving issues. Project groups will provide a holistic response to these issues as well as providing a employment and learning experience, which includes mentoring and coaching to residents involved .

Project groups will be established for a particular issue or activity and therefore will in most incidents have a specific period of life. Local Governance Groups – Collingwood, Fitzroy, Richmond Purpose Overall purposes of the Local Community Action Groups are to advise, set direction, monitor, implement projects & actions, communicate, engage and report to stakeholders.

Eleven (11) resident committee members per site; and All public housing residents of the Fitzroy, Collingwood and Richmond estate are entitled to be members.

Resident members:

• Neighbourhood Renewal (NR) Advisory Group/REAG (Maximum 2)
• Tenants Association (TA) (Maximum 1)
• Ethnic diversity component (main ethnic/language groups on each estate) (Maximum 2 from each main ethno-language group) Member Partners
• Office of Housing (OoH) local office manager (1 person)
• Senior manager City of Yarra (1 person)
• Senior manager from the local neighbourhood house (1 person)
• Senior manager from local health centre (1 person)
• Neighbourhood Justice Centre (NJC) (1 person) Co-opt members
• Centre for Work and Learning (1 person)
• Parkies – Indigenous Organisation (1 person)
• Police (1 person)
• Business representative
• Education – Principals Community Advisory Group (CAG) members Local resident group is the core of the CAG.

Local resident group is comprised of eleven (11) local residents and five (5) organisations and/or government departments.

CAG will have 50% residents & 50% organisations and/or department representatives and an appointed independent chair. The CAG will consist of local resident members plus six additional organisations as identified in co –opt members as above. The independent Chair will be an appointed by the Minister for Housing.

The role of the Chair is a traditional one and will include but not limited to:
• Providing coordination, guidance and leadership;
• Represent the CAG in the public domain; and

• Responsible for ensuring that administrative and other meeting tasks are completed.

Information obtained from "City of Yarra Public housing estates Collingwood, Fitzroy, Richmond Governance Structure 2010-2012"