When his grandparents pass away, Anthony found himself living homeless under the portico of the NSW State Library. Attending Matthew Talbot Hostel for meals, Anthony was referred to the clinic for diabetes medication, and his mental health needs became apparent. Anti-psychotic medication was transformative for him, and Habilis was able to offer him a permanent unit at Summer Hill. Facing some challenges adapting to Habilis life, Anthony receives constant supervision and care to keep his home in good order.

This week Olav flew to Shanghai for the ULI 2026 Asia Pacific Awards for Excellence, with Habilis coming away as one of only 14 winners from 49 entries across the region. Read more about the awards and explore the complete list of winners.

We’re currently seeking an Afternoon Support Worker to join our team supporting residents in a residential mental health setting.

This is a meaningful role for someone with experience in the mental health field who is passionate about supporting wellbeing, independence and social connection. The position involves five afternoon shifts per week in a supportive residential environment.

9News shared a fantastic story on the NSW Government’s investment into supported accommodation to get our most vulnerable people out of expensive hospital beds - and off the streets. Habilis features as the benchmark for this type of housing with our resident Andrew star of the show. Olav features too, explaining the cost savings of this model.. Watch the full story.

Habilis is a finalist in the 2026 Asia Pacific Awards for Excellence by respected international property body, Urban Land Institute (ULI). We’re particularly excited due to the level of global competition these awards attract, and Asian countries generally lack community mental health services and specialist supported housing for people living with chronic mental illness, so it’s a chance to spread the word.

For nearly fifty years, mental health care in Italy has been delivered through a system centred on community, housing and local services, rather than long-term institutional settings. Strong outcomes suggest there’s much for Australia to learn.

From rock-bottom with no way up to positively thriving in two short years, Kellie is a wonderful Habilis success story. Now aged 53, she lived with her parents until her first acute episode of mental illness at the age of 51, and had her first ever contact with the police after assaulting her elderly father in response to symptoms. Life swiftly unraveled from there.

Habilis founder Professor Olav Nielssen spoke to Sarah Morice at ABC NewsRadio about continuity of care for the chronically mentally ill and its role in the prevention of violent incidents involving people with severe mental illness.

ABC New’s 7.30 article recognises Habilis as the way forward for housing homeless people living with severe mental illness

Darren epitomises the challenges our residents can face in society, easily slipping through the cracks of the system without a viable, permanent housing solution. After 12 months at Habilis, Darren has settled into a safe and stable way of life. And when we say Habilis probably saved his life, we’re not exaggerating.

We now have a settled cohort of 16 tenants at Summer Hill, with the remaining 4 units reserved for vulnerable mentally ill women who have not done well in public housing estates and need to be housed in a more protective environment with ready access to medical care.

Hurrah! We’re thrilled to announce that our Summer Hill centre has taken the top gong in the Social Infrastructure category of the prestigious Urban Developer Awards for 2025. It was a strongly contested category with some major industry players and some excellent entries, so we were really excited to be called up to stage.