First Wilya Janta Aboriginal-designed home arrives in the NT

In Tennant Creek, a town shaped by housing shortages and extreme heat, a new kind of home has arrived — one designed by Aboriginal innovators not just for shelter, but for culture, climate and community. Delivered in late 2025, the first of a series of modular, “culture-led” houses designed by members of the First Nations organisation Wilya Janta, signalling a shift from low-quality, standardised government housing toward locally informed design.

With shaded outdoor areas for extended family life, separate bathrooms and sleeping spaces aligned with cultural norms, solar power, and passive cooling to reduce heat, the new home is a vast improvement on current housing. For residents accustomed to overcrowding and soaring electricity costs, the project shows that innovation can not only improve living conditions but also provide cost savings and dignity for occupants.

That approach is now being bolstered by new economic evidence. A recent Wilya Janta report found that every dollar invested in remote Northern Territory housing designed this way could generate up to two dollars in social and economic returns. The benefits, the analysis suggests, extend beyond construction — reducing healthcare costs, lowering maintenance demands, and improving long-term community wellbeing.

Four equivalent homes are planned for Tennant Creek next year, with Wilya Janta staff saying they hope the homes can ease local overcrowding and help prepare their communities for rising temperatures due to climate change. Hear innovators Norm Frank and Simon Quilty, founders of Wilya Janta, discuss how the new homes were designed and how they are raising funds to expand the program on ABC’s Saturday Extra.

Learn more about the Wilya Janta housing project and support their work here.