A unique collaboration between the Queensland Government, the Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust, and award-winning Sunshine Coast-based Oly Homes has successfully delivered 8 affordable modular homes and Gold LHA (Livable Housing Australia) accessible units for the Thursday Island community.

The project includes 3 two-bedroom homes, 3 studio units, 2 Gold LHA accessible units, as well as a residence for the local Minister.

Constructed at Oly Homes' Yandina and Cooroy factories, General Manager Steven Nousala described it as the most logistically challenging project in the company’s 50-year history.

“We are so thrilled to have delivered this project on time and within budget for the people of Thursday Island. We know housing supply and affordability is a major issue within the community and modular homes provide a great solution as land supply and construction costs make the delivery of new homes more challenging.

“We’ve worked closely with the Queensland Government as well as the Uniting Church and local stakeholders to design these homes with the local climate and cultural needs, a top priority. We’ve also added turfing, fencing and driveways for each home so it’s a high quality finish.

“We are very proud of the way our team has completed, delivered and installed these homes in just eight months. A project of this size and scale should take up to two years but we knew that supplying housing to the local community was a major priority so we worked hard to meet this super tight deadline,” Steve said.

Rev Bruce Moore, Moderator of the Uniting Church in Australia, Queensland Synod said it was important to provide affordable homes for Thursday Island families.

“The Thursday Island community is remarkable, and we give thanks to them and the Torres Strait Thursday Island Uniting Church congregation for their commitment and partnership.

“Projects like this cannot be delivered in remote locations like Thursday Island without the collaboration between the Queensland Government, the local community including the Uniting Church and private enterprise.

“We thank all of the stakeholders who have helped bring this project to life as we work towards supporting the close knit community of Thursday Island. These homes are incredible and built specifically for our community’s needs and the quality finishes provide a homely welcome for each of the tenants,” Rev Moore said.