Brisbane-born midwife Elisa was excited about her new role in a maternity ward at Westmead, but she was also bracing herself for the prospect of having to live a long way from her work. 

“Sydney is a great place to live but enjoying all the city has to offer is hard when prices are so high,” Elisa said. 

“Friends and family warned me it was going to be hard, but it was important to find something close to work and within my price range. I didn’t want to be spending all my money on rent and transport and stuck far away from the few friends I have in Sydney.” 

For Elisa, the answer turned out to be a tenancy with SGCH at the Highline development at Westmead, 85 apartments catering for key and essential workers – people employed in essential industries like health care, education, emergency services and law enforcement. 

“I feel so lucky to have found SGCH and my brand-new apartment in the Highline development, which is a less than 10-minute walk to my work. 

“I work shifts – often starting very early in the morning – so long commutes on public transport would have been hard. I’m also new to Sydney so I wanted to be close to friends so I can enjoy the limited downtime that I do have. 

“SGCH have been wonderful. The paperwork was sorted out quickly, once I had shown I met the criteria, and I was able to move in almost straight away. 

“The apartment is such a great space and the Highline has great amenities including a communal swimming pool and BBQ area, and it’s an easy walk to transport to anywhere. I am not spending all my money on rent, and I have colleagues who also live in Highline or close by,” she said. 

The key worker housing in Westmead was the result of a collaboration between SGCH, investment partner Lighthousing Infrastructure and builder Deicorp, and is one of many partnerships we are involved with to find new ways to address the problem of housing affordability in Sydney.