The Department of Housing and Works and the Department of Communities have delivered the first of two Common Grounds to help address homelessness and social housing needs in WA.
Kaalak – East Perth Common Ground officially opened on 1 April 2026, providing 112 self-contained apartments, communal spaces and on-site support services. The second Common Ground, comprising 50 self-contained apartments, is currently under construction in Mandurah and is expected to be completed in late 2026.
Common Ground is a housing model that originated in New York more than 20 years ago and has been successfully adopted in other Australian cities. The model is based on a ‘housing first’ approach, where people are placed in housing as a first priority and provided with on-site support services such as case management and supports for employment, workforce training, education, health and wellbeing.
Common Ground is a key component of the State Government’s All Paths Lead to a Home: Western Australia’s 10 Year Strategy on Homelessness 2020–2030, which aims to improve outcomes for Western Australians experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness.
Find out more
Further information on the two Common Ground sites is available on the following pages:
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