Awards

2007 HIA Awards

After just over twelve months of operations, Larrakia Homes entered into three categories of the prestigious 2007 Housing Industry Awards (HIA); Best Spec Home up to $350,000, Best Commercial Project and Best Kitchen Project up to $15,000.

Larrakia Homes were thrilled to win not only all three categories entered into, but also received the major category award of overall winner for Best Spec Home. Chief Executive Officer of the Larrakia Development Corporation, Greg Constantine along with Chairman Koolpinyah Barnes and Larrakia Homes Director, Peter Poniris were at the glitzy black tie event, attended by over 400 guests, to receive these Awards.

"We are proud to be recognised at this level by our industry peers. We have put a considerable amount of effort into literally building this business. We have listened to what potential buyers are looking for in the market while also identifying commercial opportunities, such as the Lyons Community Centre, to demonstrate the range of services offered by Larrakia Homes. Not only has this raised our profile, but is also providing wider employment, training and career opportunities for our indigenous employees", said a delighted Mr Constantine.

The high accolade of Best Spec Home and Best New Kitchen was awarded to one of Larrakia Homes first construction ventures, one of three spec house and land packages at the Darla Estate – the highly functional winning design called "Koolpinyah". Tailored for the family market with a generous size block of 740m2, the Koolpinyah features four bedrooms with spacious living areas that include both formal and informal areas surrounding the kitchen.

This kitchen was also judged best New Kitchen Project under $15,000. Combined with plenty of valuable storage space and strategic positioning between the living areas, it is also very attractive through the use of strong colours, mosaic tiles and quality Laminex products. The "Koolpinyah" is designed with a number of energy efficiencies that include the innovative use of internal louvered panels for maximum airflow, wide eaves with expansive shade areas and tinted glass to create cooler living environments, particularly suited to the tropical Darwin climate. Its use of natural sandstone with mosaic tiles at the front of the home is both visually appealing and practical. Not only has Larrakia Homes excelled in building quality residential homes, it was also recognised for it's high standard of work on the Community centre in Lyons by taking out the Best Commercial Project award. The centre has one large hall, a meeting room as well as kitchen facilities and amenities. It is there to service the local community, situated within Garamanak Park. The building incorporates significant pieces of Larrakia art as well as several public art features that surround the outside. Saltwater Constructions, another business arm of the Larrakia Development Corporation, undertook the installation of this art.

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Occupational health and safety management systems.
AS/NZS 4801:2001

With an impressive and growing portfolio of successfully-completed quality projects and four significant awards from the Housing Industry Association in 2007, including Major Winner for Spec Home of the Year and Winner for Commercial Project, Larrakia Homes is getting serious. The 2008/09 financial year will see some major developments for the company, with a number of significant residential and commercial building projects ready to take off. As part of this growing presence, Larrakia Homes successfully gained certification under the Australian Standard (AS) 4801 "Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems", in April 2008, which enabled them to apply to the Office of the Federal Safety Commissioner (OFSC) for full accreditation.

As well as ensuring the safest possible working environment for employees through the implementation of this management system, accreditation means that Larrakia Homes can compete with the big end of town and tender for contracts in excess of $3 million which have a Federal government funding component. And they will join only three other major building contractors in the NT at the moment in having this capability. Satisfying the stringent criteria has been a massive process as the General Manager explains: "The audit is very thorough and we are proud of the fact we got through first time: many companies have to go through the process two or three times. "And we believe we will be the first Aboriginal-owned building company in the NT – and, we think, Australia - to have gained full accreditation."

The accreditation audit covers a company's hazard identification, risk analysis and reporting procedures. Happily, there has been no need to use the reporting system so far, as Larrakia Homes has had no accidents on their worksites, but as the General Manager says: "The aim of an OH&S management system like this is to ensure that the environment remains safe and not to just trust to luck". Full implementation and maintenance of the system will require the employment of a full-time Safety Officer to cope with the upcoming major projects

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Federal Safety Commissioner's Certificate

The Darwin-based Larrakia Development Corporation is now one of 121 building companies in Australia to have its work site safety practices recognised with a Federal Safety Commissioner's Certificate.

Ms Helen Marshall, the Canberra-based Federal Safety Commissioner, this week presented the Certificate to the Corporation's vice chairman, Kelvin Costello, to authenticate the status of Larrakia Homes as being among the nation's best in terms of safety on the job. Ms Marshall told Larrakia Development Board members that her office is encouraging building firms in Australia's north to undertake the site evaluations and safety audits necessary to qualify for the Commissioner's Certificate, so they can tender on major contracts which will be let by the Federal Government over the next 12 months.

"You have placed Larrakia Homes in a good position to compete for these contracts," Ms Marshall told the Corporation's Board members and executives.

Larrakia Homes has already built award-winning homes in the new suburbs of Darla and Lyons, and is tendering on a 39-house contract let by Defence Housing Australia. Only six Territory builders have been awarded the Commissioner's Certificate, and Ms Marshall says she believes that this week's presentation is the first such award to any indigenous-owned company in Australia.

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