Police officers and health care workers will be the first essential workers to move into four, purpose built homes in Port Augusta which have been finished three months ahead of schedule.

The Malinauskas Labor Government is building 30 homes across regional South Australia to specifically house essential workers under the Regional Key Worker Housing Scheme.

The first four homes in Port Augusta are now complete, with new workers to move in over the coming days.

Builder Constructwell started construction on the four homes in Port Augusta in February and achieved handover today, building the homes in just seven months.

The project also marks a significant milestone for the Office for Regional Housing, which operates within Renewal SA. It was established in 2023 to unlock new housing and economic growth across the regions.

Elsewhere, accommodation for essential government workers is gathering pace in Mount Gambier with four homes on track to be handed over by the builder Empak by late October, two months ahead of schedule. A second project in Mount Gambier will be completed in mid-2025.

Construction of homes in the Riverland is moving swiftly with five homes for essential workers well underway. Slabs were completed in mid-August in Renmark with the roofing and cladding underway. The builder, Rockford Homes, is targeting completion in early to mid-2025.

Nine houses are approaching lock-up stage on Yorke Peninsula, where Country Living Homes are building five homes in Kadina and four in Moonta Bay.

While early works have also started on six new houses in Ceduna which will be assembled using a ground-breaking modular building system which will see the houses go from slab to lock-up within one week.

All houses will be ready to house essential workers in 2025 and will provide accommodation for health, education or SAPOL workers.

For photos of the finished Port Augusta homes and timelapse vision of the other projects click here.

Quotes

Attributable to Nick Champion

To see the first of our regional homes completed and ready to house essential workers is an important milestone.

It’s incredible the Port Augusta homes have been built in less than seven months.

I would like to thank all our building partners for working so hard to deliver these houses in quick time.

Creating homes for essential workers will relieve some of the stress on regional rental markets which in many cases often have zero vacancies.

Attributable to Matt Hunt, Director Office for Regional Housing

Port Augusta and Mount Gambier are leading the way in terms of new home completion, but building is booming too on the Yorke Peninsula where builder Country Living Homes has five homes at Kadina under construction and another four homes in Moonta Bay.

The houses in Kadina are approaching lock-up stage and will be ready to move into early next year.

Slabs have been poured in Moonta Bay, and frames are now going up, so those houses won’t be too far behind.