Tasmania’s West Coast is set to benefit from a $150,000 housing feasibility study aimed at supporting the region’s growth and providing more accommodation options for essential workers.
The study, part of the Key Worker Accommodation Pilot, will explore options for building new housing that can offer both long-term and short-term accommodation.
It will be available to employees in vital industries like healthcare, education, mining and tourism.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff said the government understands the growing demand for housing in the region.
“As we look to attract and retain quality staff across all industries on the West Coast, we must do all we can to expand the accommodation options for workers,” he said.
The project will be a collaboration between Homes Tasmania, Bank of Us and the Strategic Regional Partnership.
It will include strategies to entice investors and address the challenges associated with building in the remote region.
The study comes one year after West Coast Mayor Shane Pitt and industry representatives signed a memorandum of understanding to progress a partnership.
“We’re in an area where we can see future growth, future development, especially in major industries and there’s big projects coming on board,” Pitt said at the time.
“At the moment, housing is one thing that will be a big issue for these projects to be viable or even take place.”
