Structure & Operate With Purpose
Civic Structure Partners is a specialist governance and commercial products and services firm serving the public-private interface — built specifically for the social and affordable housing sector at its defining moment of scale.
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We're a team of senior professionals and former colleagues from Housing Australia with a unique expertise improving the Board | Management nexus.
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Put simply, we help structure your project vehicle, making sure the right commercial, corporate and operational settings are in place and put into practice to best enable you to achieve the outcomes you desire — transforming people's lives with a place to call home.
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Our primary focus is the growing social and affordable housing sector working to house our nation. We also work with States & Territories and the for-profit sector.
A SECTOR THAT IS BEING ASKED TO GROW FASTER THAN IT EVER HAS.
The Housing Australia Future Fund, the National Housing Accord, and the state-level programs running alongside them have committed the social and affordable housing sector, served by Community Housing Providers (CHPs), to
a scale of delivery without precedent. CHPs are standing up special purpose vehicles (SPVs), entering joint ventures with developers and government, managing covenant-bound debt, and in many cases preparing for consolidation - often for the first time, and often in parallel.
How does the sector govern this growth, rather than be governed by it?
ABOUT
CIVIC STRUCTURE PARTNERS
Civic Structure Partners (CSP) is a specialist governance and commercial products and services firm established to serve public-private partnerships — particularly in the community housing sector.
Our focus is the critical interface where strategic oversight meets operational execution. As Community Housing Providers (CHPs) take on increasingly complex development programs, joint ventures, and multi-stakeholder Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) led projects, the governance and commercial frameworks that underpin decision-making must keep pace.
CSP designs and implements the governance architecture that enables CHPs to operate with confidence: clear delegations of authority, robust reporting structures, sound commercial frameworks, and the decision-making infrastructure required to manage multi-stakeholder delivery programs — while protecting charitable purpose and regulatory standing.
We also provide commercial support to the sector on foundation transactions that establish new and enhanced community housing initiatives. In response to sector financial demands, our products and services can be structured for cashflow — including monthly product streams covering 6–12 month retainers, or one-off project engagements.
The Housing Australia Advantage
CSP was founded by three Directors in 2025 who held senior roles at Housing Australia simultaneously during the HAFF and National Housing Accord funding rounds — one on program implementation, one on corporate governance, and one overseeing the legal framework working directly with Housing Australia’s Board, Chief Executive and senior management team.
We understand what good governance looks like from the funder's perspective, the regulator's perspective, and the provider's perspective. That combination is the CSP’s foundation and, to our knowledge, is not available from any other provider or adviser in the sector.
The Sector Inflexion Point Is Now
Australia’s social and affordable housing sector is in a period of unprecedented growth. The governance and commercial architecture that served simpler times is no longer fit for purpose.
01 — Scale & Complexity
CHPs delivering at scale through SPVs and joint ventures with private development partners — creating multi-layered governance obligations.
02 — Regulatory Demands
Heightened scrutiny under NRSCH, HAFF compliance obligations, and complex finance covenants requiring governance systems that are fit for regulatory purpose.
03 — Multi-Party Structures
Ring-fenced funding, multi-party decision rights, and SPV obligations demanding governance systems that CHPs typically have not previously needed.
04 — Time Pressure
Public capital deployment timeframes require governance infrastructure to be in place quickly — without compromising quality or rigour.
05 — Board Capability Gap
Boards accustomed to simpler operating models now required to oversee complex programs and private sector delivery partners — often without specialist support.
06 — Charitable Purpose Protection
Commercial agility must be balanced against ACNC obligations and NRSCH registration — requiring governance architecture that manages this tension by design.
THE BOARD–EXECUTIVE INTERFACE
Where Governance Decisions Are Made
CSP operates at the nexus between strategic oversight and operational execution — the point where most governance failures originate and where our expertise delivers the most value.
BOARD — Top of the Hourglass
Strategic Direction & Oversight
Risk Appetite & Policy
Material Decision Gateways
Regulatory & Charitable Compliance
Director Duties & Fiduciary Obligations
Stakeholder & Funder Accountability
EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT — Bottom of the Hourglass
Operational Execution
Program & Project Delivery
SPV & JV Management
Financial & Risk Reporting
Delegated Decision Authority
Contractor & Partner Management
Meet the Founders
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Brian has spent 25 years at the intersection of property development, capital governance, and social infrastructure — directing programs of state or national significance on both sides of the client-advisor relationship.
As Director of Program Implementation at Housing Australia, he stood up the deal-close function for $10 billion HAFF and National Housing Accord Fund, designing the data management, reporting, and contract execution frameworks. As NSW Government Project Director, he delivered the award-winning Barangaroo Reserve.
Brian understands how Boards think, how Executive teams operate under pressure, and where the gap between the two creates risk — particularly during the asset growth phase, when the pace of delivery routinely outstrips an organisation's decision-making architecture.
MBA, B.Arch, P3O® Practitioner.
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A former senior executive in government (NSW Treasury) and Partner at EY, Adam specialises in corporate governance solutions for boards, c-suite executives, and governance functions across public and private sector organisations.
As Corporate Governance Advisor to the Housing Australia Board, Adam managed the continuing development of the corporate governance architecture that underpins one of the nation’s most significant housing investment bodies—supporting the Board, Chief Executive and senior management team.
With extensive cross-sector experience, Adam operates at the intersection of government and industry - particularly where regulators are involved - bringing public sector understanding to private clients and practical commercial knowledge to public entities.
Corporate governance policy and practice expert. Significant public-private experience.
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Nicola brings over 20 years of senior experience at the intersection of real estate finance, investment structuring and legal / governance advisory.
As Chief Legal Officer and Board Secretary at Housing Australia, she held a dual executive mandate — leading the legal function across all of Housing Australia’s mandated funding programs while managing the Board’s secretariat requirements and providing legal counsel on the programs and frameworks underpinning the deployment of public capital into community housing.
Nicola’s earlier career spans partnership at Lander & Rogers and senior roles at Gilbert + Tobin and MinterEllison, advising major developers, equity funds and institutional lenders on complex real estate transactions across equity joint ventures, development finance and sophisticated capital structures. Her transactional background gives her governance advisory work both commercial precision and deal-side realism.
Legal practitioner. Government and commercial law.
Our Services
Structured for Sector Cashflow
CSP’s commercial model is designed in recognition of the financial demands facing the community housing sector — with flexibility built in from the outset.
Monthly Product Streams
6–12 month retainers on a discounted fixed or variable fee basis — embedding sustained governance capability across the lifecycle of a program without large upfront commitments.
Project Engagements
One-off engagements for specific scope — including transaction advisory, governance reviews, health checks, and bid support — scoped and priced to the task at hand.
Fixed-Fee Advisory
Defined-scope advisory mandates on a fixed-fee basis for budget certainty — suitable for specific projects, discrete regulatory or compliance tasks, or targeted board advisory work.