In Queensland's gulf region, it has been virtually impossible for locals to buy their own home.
Burketown's housing crisis has lasted more than a decade, but finally local leaders have come up with a plan to fix it.
And for First Nations sisters Maddy and Jordan Marshall, it's a dream come true.
Residents in the predominantly Indigenous community face several barriers to home ownership because of their location.
Some have reported being denied loans because of so-called 'postcode bans' or having to offer up extortionate deposits.
In a community as remote as Burketown, it has been too expensive to build new homes, even before the pandemic-induced building materials and labour shortages.
But an agreement between the Burke Shire Council, Westpac, and social services organisation Headstart Homes is finally opening doors.
The deal will see nine council-owned properties sold to council staff, deposit-free, without the need for mortgage insurance and at a 40 per cent discount.
Of the 200 people who live in Burketown, 48 are council staff who are deemed low-risk buyers in the agreement.
The profits made by the council will then be invested into building more houses.
"We have 21 houses we have approval to sell. Westpac has said yes to nine loans and we've already sold three," said council chief executive Daniel Mckinlay.
"So that's what we're working through at the moment and once those houses are sold, we will review the process and look at next steps."
More Aboriginal homeowners
Maddy and Jordan were the first buyers to purchase a home under the agreement.
"To have the opportunity to go through the process and buy a home in our hometown has been wonderful."
Mr Mckinlay said home ownership was a significant way to break generational cycles of social disadvantage in First Nations families.
"Aboriginal home ownership is extremely low across Australia — and in remote communities like ours, home ownership — even things like car ownership — is much more of a challenge.
"Maddy and Jordan are both what I call as being 'in the cycle'. Every generation of their family has lived in state homes all of their lives," Mr Mckinlay said.
Push for a national approach
Headstart Homes wants this style of home loan to be provided around the country to help families out of the social housing system.
"We're really honing in on this approach to look at how we can nationalise it; how can we work with all our partners and supporters like Westpac in order to bring about a national approach?" founder and managing director Stephen Woodlands said.
"For every family we transition into home ownership, we free up a new, affordable social housing home for another family."
