Our Housing
Community Villages
Supporting recovery and transition after the 2022 floods.
In response to the devastating 2022 floods that deeply affected communities across the Northern Rivers, a network of community villages was established to provide temporary housing for people who had lost their homes. What began as temporary housing quickly evolved into a community where residents were able to heal, connect and feel safe.
NRH was appointed by the NSW Government to manage seven of these recovery villages across the region. Today, we continue to manage three sites – in Lismore, Mullumbimby and Ballina – providing housing to individuals and families still recovering from the long-term impacts of the floods. The villages are funded until December 2026 and NRH is working with residents to assist them transition into their long-term housing solution beyond the village program.
Each village offers a stable environment where residents can rebuild their lives with dignity. Villages are made up of individual homes with a community BBQ area and an onsite office that is staffed during weekdays. We also work closely with a wide network of partners including Red Cross, Social Futures, Uniting, Northern Rivers Community Gateway and local community organisations so that residents in the village can access any support they may require.
Whether it’s a family, single parent, an older person, or someone living alone, our focus is on providing safety and fostering hope while residents transition toward permanent housing solutions.
Information for Village Residents
How to report a repair or maintenance issue
During business hours, Village residents must contact their onsite Village Administrator for all maintenance matters.
In the event of an after-hours issue, residents can contact the Community Village Maintenance Line (1300 303 943) to report maintenance of a serious nature which can’t wait for business hours attendance.
Examples of these include:
- Burst water pipe
- Sewer overflow
- Blocked toilet
- No power (not due to local outages)
- Exposed live wires
- Gas leak (Mullumbimby Village only)
When reporting an After-hours repair, Operators will ask for the following details:
- Your name
- Your contact number
- Which village you are located
- The pod number affected (including your own if reporting for someone else)
- The nature of the emergency
Office hours
The village office will be open Monday to Friday from 10am to 3pm.
Who is onsite?
Each village will have 2 staff on site:
Occupancy Manager, whose responsibilities include:
- Managing village operations
- Housing transitions
- Planning with residents
- Occupancy management
- License fee & arrears management
Village Administrator, whose responsibilities include:
- Quarterly POD inspections
- Repairs and maintenance
- Administrative tasks
A Housing Support Worker attends all villages on a regular basis to engage with and assist residents transition to a more permanent housing outcome outside the village program.
Crisis and support contacts
Emergency – Call 000 for emergencies needing Police, Fire or Ambulance.
Call 000 for: Fire or smoke, serious injury or illness, crime in progress, life, or property at immediate risk.
Non-urgent police: 131 444
SES (storms/floods): 132 500
The Recovery Support Services (Uniting and Mullumbimby District Neighbourhood Centre – MDNC) are funded to provide support to residents.
NSW Mental Health Line Phone: 1800 011 511
Disaster Recovery Team Assertive Outreach Phone: 6620 2878
Kids Helpline Phone: 1800 551 800
Telephone and online counselling for ages 5-25.
Lifeline Phone: 13 11 14
Anyone having a crisis – 24-hour support.
1800 RESPECT Phone: 1800 737 732
National domestic, family, and sexual violence counselling, information,and support service.
Suicide Call Back Service Phone: 1300 659 467 Provides 24/7 support if you or someone you know is feeling suicidal.
Beyond Blue Phone: 1300 224 636 Mental Health Support Head to Health.
For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander crisis support, please call 13YARN (13 92 76).
Disaster Response Legal Service NSW: Phone 1800 801 529 (Monday – Friday, 9am-5pm).
Expression of Interest to live in a Community Village
If you are interested in seeking housing in one of the community villages, you can lodge an expression of interest with Uniting via:
Email: podallocations@uniting.org
Phone/Text: 0403 786 473
Please note that the community villages do not provide emergency accommodation and residents are required to pay a license fee to reside in the village.
If you need urgent temporary accommodation assistance, please call Link2Home on 1800 152 152.
More information can be found on our Support for Tenants page.
If you need urgent temporary accommodation assistance, please call Link2Home on 1800 152 152.
More information can be found on our Support for Tenants page.
Our Residents Voices
“I am very grateful to everyone and appreciate all the activities, Kids Club and school holiday events put on for us.”
“This might sound silly, but I had a mortgage, I had my own house, and I had stable employment, and it had colour bond fencing. I swear when I saw this (community housing) unit and it had colour bond fencing, I went yes, it was a nice little moment, it was like getting some of that old life back. It was almost like a metaphor for stability for me.”
“I just love the safety and security that I have here. I love the friends that I meet here. I find it very together, we are just a little community, us against the world.”
Carol
“I have my verandah enclosed and I can just sit out here and have my privacy. A highlight living here would be doing the craft and some of the BBQs. The activities I liked most were weaving and drawing and painting and the pottery where we got the pottery mugs fired.”
Therese
Other housing options
Need help?
If you need support, call us or ask someone you trust to contact us on your behalf.
