Winery Gives Employees Free Housing Amid Rental Crisis

Workers moving to one of Australia's largest food-growing regions are finding homes thanks to their employer stepping in where the housing market has failed.

De Bortoli Wines in Bilbul, New South Wales, now provides free temporary accommodation for new employees at its 250-person operation. Managing director Darren De Bortoli made the call three years ago after watching skilled workers struggle to find rental properties in the western Riverina region.

"Staff come to the area, and they just can't find housing," De Bortoli said. "It was creating enormous stresses, and in the early days my staff had to put them up for a while before we looked at the option of actually providing housing ourselves."

The winery converted two farmhouses into temporary housing specifically for permanent skilled workers, who make up 20 percent of the company's workforce. The arrangement gives newcomers time to understand the local housing market and find long-term solutions.

The housing crunch affects everyone in Griffith, a town of 28,000 people expected to grow to 31,000 over the next two decades. Real estate director Frank Franco says rental properties now attract six to twelve applicants each, with average rents jumping from $380 to $500 weekly for three-bedroom homes over the past five years.

Independent housing analyst Eliza Owen called the rent increases "extraordinary." The region saw a 31 percent jump in rents over the past five years, compared to less than 10 percent growth in the previous five-year period.

The Ripple Effect

De Bortoli's solution shows how businesses can protect their workforce while communities catch up on housing development. The approach ensures skilled workers don't leave the region simply because they can't find a place to live.

Other manufacturing companies, poultry processors, and agricultural businesses in the region are now exploring similar options. The model could spread to other rural areas facing the same challenge of attracting workers without adequate housing.

Griffith City Council has master planned several villages for housing development and is working to streamline approvals. Mayor Doug Curran acknowledged the bureaucracy involved is "long and tedious," but reforms are underway to speed up the process.

For now, De Bortoli says providing housing isn't optional. "Housing unavailability shouldn't be what determines whether new workers stay in the region or not," he said. "They just need to find their feet to begin with."

The winery's creative solution is keeping workers housed, businesses staffed, and hope alive that rural communities can grow without leaving anyone behind.