Banksia Apartments: Providing more housing for Sunshine Coast’s seniors
The social housing and Specialist Disability Accommodation units are known as Banksia Apartments and are located at Little Mountain on the Sunshine Coast.
Designed to meet the changing needs of Queensland’s seniors aged 55-and-over and First Nations seniors aged 45-and-over, Banksia Apartments now form part of our Little Mountain community. Home to residents of aged care, the integrated campus also features a community hub, aquatic centre and café. 
Features of Banksia Apartments are:
- 32 one-bedroom Social Housing units
- 8 two-bedroom Social Housing units
- All Social Housing units are built to gold and platinum standard under the Livable Housing Design Guidelines
- 8 one-bedroom Specialist Disability Accommodation units
- 2 two-bedroom Specialist Disability Accommodation units
- All Specialist Disability Accommodation units are built to fully accessible standard
- Four-storey development
- Furnished community room for resident use
- On-site resident and visitor parking
- On-site office
- 24/7 concierge service for SDA tenants provided by Get Going Support
An under-occupancy strategy offered singles and couples living in large public housing properties an opportunity to downsize. As people age, the maintenance involved with larger homes can become quite unmanageable, especially if the homes have not been designed with ageing in place in mind. These units provide vulnerable seniors a place where they can age in place with dignity whilst creating availability of family-size social housing homes for those on the waiting list.
10 Specialist Disability Accommodation units were also included in the development. These provide a stable home to people with disability who need semi-independent living support but still want to be part of a community.
New Banksia Apartments tenant Wendy said she was excited to make the most of her new home.
“I have been very lucky to be offered a new unit here. I feel very safe and secure in my new home and my family finally have peace of mind in the fact I can live out my life here,” she said.
It was wonderful to be joined by so many members of the community as we cut the ribbon, signalling the opening of the units and a new chapter in the lives of the many people who will call Banksia Apartments home.