Nurses, teachers, aged care workers and police officers keep regional communities running, yet many cannot afford a home in the places they serve. They earn too much for social housing and too little for the market. This is the ‘missing middle’.  

In the Mid North Coast and Northern Rivers, about 7,000 essential workers were in housing stress in 2021, and conditions have worsened since. Philanthropic capital can do what government and commercial investors cannot: take on early risk and accept lower returns. Commissioned by the Siddle Family Foundation and guided by an expert advisory group, this report examines more than 20 housing models from Australia and overseas, and sets out how philanthropy can help build the homes this workforce needs.

Banner image: Onsite at East Colfax MINT (mixed-income neighbourhood trust), Denver Colorado US.