Naomi is a proud Aboriginal (Kamilaroi/ Gamilaraay) and Torres Strait Islander (Erub/ Darnley Island) woman. She started her home ownership journey with IBA in 2006 when she purchased her first home on the outskirts of Darwin. She now resides in her second home and uses her experience to encourage her staff to engage in the IBA home ownership program.

“We know it is a game-changer,” she says. “We know it makes generational change.”

Naomi found out about the home ownership program through her parents. She said that IBA treated her “like family” throughout the application process.

“I remember getting the advice that we’d been pre-approved and could look for a house. It almost makes you feel like you’ve won the lottery. There was support for what to look for in a home and the kinds of things that would need to happen when we found it. It was a really helpful, holistic process.”

Having her own home came with a sense of equity and self-determination for Naomi. She feels it has had a huge impact on her as an Aboriginal person, and on her wider community.

“It gave me a sense of security – my children are going to be OK.”

Talking about home ownership has become normalised for Naomi’s kids. They feel it is their right to dream about their own future homes.

“I love that Aboriginal children can engage in dreams for houses, dreams for jobs and dreams for hard work,” she says. “It is the legacy that we pass on to our children.”