City Housing beat 28 other nominees from across Australia and New Zealand to win the award for Leading Community Engagement Practice, judged by the Australasian Housing Institute, the professional association for social housing in Australia and New Zealand.
“It’s a massive honour to receive this award, especially with so many other strong nominations,” says Michelle Riwai, City Housing Manager.
“We put the tenant at the heart of everything we do. It’s not about being perfect because no service is. It’s about constantly working to improve everything we do for all of our tenants. That philosophy, and how the whole team put this into practice, is part of our identity as a housing provider and what really sets us apart.”
In addition to winning this award, the team were also finalists in several other categories on the night, including Excellence in Social Housing.
Mayor Justin Lester says the award is a testament to the City Housing team's hard work and dedication in making social housing a real priority.
“Housing is fundamentally about meeting the real needs of real people, and that is never an easy task. Cities across Australia and New Zealand are getting more innovative in looking at better ways to address social housing challenges and I'm delighted to see our staff being acknowledged as leaders in this area. The Wellington City Council takes social housing very seriously,” he adds.
Housing portfolio lead, Councillor Brian Dawson, is delighted for the team and believes the win reaffirms the Council’s commitment to housing.
“The strength in the Council providing housing is that we can focus on the people in our communities rather than simply the bricks and mortar. This award not only recognises this approach, it celebrates it,” he says.