11/07/2025
Thank you The Ararat Advertiser 🥰
We love what we do!
Building homes for the long term
Newcomer to the local property market, eljet property group, is carving out a reputation for personalised, participant-focused housing solutions through the National Disability Insurance Scheme’s (NDIS) Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) model.
Founded on lived experience and professional insight, the team is committed to ensuring people with disability can live the way they choose, close to family, community, and support.
At the heart of ELJET’s mission is the belief that ‘home is not a place, it’s a feeling.’
While the company is still growing, it already manages 22 properties in Ballarat, with two houses now ready for tenants in Ararat and two more expected to be completed early next year.
Emily Hines along with Husband Sam and sister Jess Hughes explained the team's roots and understanding of the sector.
Emily said the team has a good understanding of what people need in a home.
“Jess and I have a lot of lived experience and working experience with the aged care and disability industries. We grew up in a supported residential service (SRS),” Emily said.
Previously, under the National Disability Agreement model, support and housing were tied together, limiting participants’ choice.
“We saw some SDA providers didn’t necessarily understand the disability support side. So the complexities around participant matching and different levels of care, as well as the functionality of the properties. Making sure they’re functional for the participants and liveable for the participants, but still feel like home. They don’t feel like a clinical sort of setting,” she said.
Sam Hines added that the gap in housing options in Ararat became a key reason for the expansion.
“We did find a lot of participants having to relocate because there were no suitable options in Ararat.”
Emily and the team recognised that if there is a choice, many would choose to stay close to home.
“For every person that wants to move away, there’s probably three people that just want to stay close to family, friends and supports in a familiar setting,” Emily said.
The homes themselves reflect a thoughtful, participant-first approach. Designed by Emily and Jess, the properties include spacious bedrooms with ensuites, private courtyards, and built-in ceiling hoist provisions. “(It’s about) just going that bit above and beyond,” Sam said.
The additions mean that participants are able to remain in housing long term.
“They don’t have to uproot their whole life and move to another house that’s going to be suitable,” he said.
Matching housemates is just as important as the design.
“We don’t want to just put anyone in with anyone. We want to make sure they are going to be good housemates and they are going to be compatible,” said Emily.
She said the long-term goal is sustainability, for everyone involved.
“It’s in everyone’s best interest for the participants who are living there. They’re going to be happily living there for 10, 15, 20 years. The homeowner is going to have really good long-term tenants,” she said.
The Ararat homes are located in Carey Street and Thornbury Close and are open to both SDA and non-SDA participants.
“A lot of providers, they just want top dollar. We said pull the brakes a bit. We are more focused on the matches of the participants, not just the funding. Really make it a home and that they can live with people they want to,” said Sam.
As word spreads about their approach, the team hopes to continue creating more homes that offer real choice, comfort, and community for people with disability.
For more information, visit eljetproperty.com.au or call 0419 325 985.
