Bank Australia has partnered with Accessible Homes Australia (AHA) since day one, helping fund the acquisition and building of founder Perry Cross AM’s very first accessible home. Perry, a C2 ventilated quadriplegic since a rugby accident at 19, saw first-hand how few housing options existed for people with disability — so he built his own, then scaled the idea into a much bigger vision.
That vision led to Hope Island, AHA’s third project on the Gold Coast: ten high-support Specialist Disability Accommodation apartments within a 105-residence complex, each fully accessible and tech-enabled, plus shared amenities like a pool, gym and community room.
For residents, the impact is profound. Johanna, who lives with multiple sclerosis, had been isolated and struggling in an inaccessible apartment before moving in. “I’m in the right place,” she says. Gail, who also has MS, has rediscovered independence, taken up wheelchair basketball, and even saved money on her NDIS plan thanks to on-site amenities.
Bank Australia’s Nicole Chen, Senior Manager of Impact Lending, says supporting accessible housing sits naturally alongside the bank’s purpose-driven approach — and Bank Australia was among the first banks to lend into the SDA sector.
Beyond individual wellbeing, the model delivers system-wide benefits: tenants report fewer hospital visits and lower stress, saving costs across the care system. Bank Australia and AHA are now working to replicate Hope Island’s success, including a new SDA living village in Hervey Bay.
As Perry puts it, secure housing gives people with disability “confidence” and “freedom” — a genuinely life-changing impact.
