David Fisher, CEO at Housing Choices Australia
Housing Choices Australia is pleased to welcome David Fisher as our new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), following an extensive recruitment and selection process led by the Housing Choices Australia Board.
Previously the CEO of Tier 1 community housing provider Housing Plus in New South Wales, David joined staff in the Melbourne office for his first day with Housing Choices where he takes over from former CEO Michael Lennon, who stepped down after 12 years at the helm.
An experienced and successful CEO, David has had a distinguished 20-year career in the housing and housing services sector in the United Kingdom and Australia.
“David was the stand-out candidate from what was an outstanding shortlist,” Housing Choices Australia Chair Heather McCallum said.
“We are delighted to welcome such a credentialled and experienced Australian and international housing sector executive to Housing Choices Australia.”
After migrating with his family from Scotland to take up the Housing Plus CEO position in 2016, David repositioned the organisation as a leading NSW Community Housing and Services provider. While harnessing the passion of 130+ staff, he grew the Housing Plus asset base from $80 million to $250 million, expanded the portfolio from 800 to 1,400 homes, increased annual revenue from $10 million to $26 million and delivered a $135m social and affordable housing building program.
David’s advocacy also led to Housing Plus being selected to deliver 12 new refuges for victims of domestic abuse, making it the largest provider of Domestic and Family Violence Services in regional NSW.
David has extensive experience in both executive management and governance. He’s currently on the Board of the Suburban Land Agency ACT, the Chair of Homelessness NSW and former President of NSW Council of Social Services.
David’s lifelong passion for social justice and housing equity began when he started as a management trainee and development officer with the Scottish Special Housing Association in Glasgow in the mid-1980s.
He served as Managing Director of the Home Group Limited’s (one of the UK’s largest national housing and care providers) Northwest operations for eight years, where he led a major expansion program that included a complex housing stock transfer and grew its regional housing portfolio from 6,500 to 11,000 homes.
He delivered similarly successful growth and transition outcomes as CEO of the Equity Housing Group Ltd (UK) for seven years, where he transformed the group from a traditional social housing company into a commercial business operation that led a major expansion of low-income housing for sale across NW England.
David said he was drawn to the position at Housing Choices because of its track record of growth, innovation and leadership in the Australian community housing sector and the opportunity to lead a highly skilled team with a clear and ambitious vision for the future,
“Building on Michael Lennon’s legacy I look forward to leading the team, enabling them to support the social impact we can have, through delivering the next vital phase of development and growth.
“I am passionate about the impact Housing Choices can have on its customers’ lives, the amazing social outcomes we can deliver and the impact that Housing Choices can have in addressing the Australian housing crisis.”
ABOUT HOUSING CHOICES AUSTRALIA
Housing Choices Australia is a national, not-for-profit housing provider that exists to create safe, quality and affordable housing for people struggling to find a home in Australia’s challenging private rental market and has been operating since 2014. It owns and manages over 7,400 social and affordable homes for more than 8000 residents across Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and New South Wales. It has won numerous architectural and other awards for the quality of its housing and services for people living on low incomes, many of whom live with disability.