How can workers’ accommodation be designed to be adapted for local permanent housing?
This case study is one of a series looking at how the shift to renewable energy can enable improved housing outcomes for regional communities. It showcases examples of innovative workforce accommodation and legacy housing initiatives from across Australia.
Housing legacy: This project delivers infrastructure and civil works on a 10 hectare site in Dubbo, designed for temporary workers’ accommodation which will then be adapted for permanent housing.
Squadron Energy will develop a 400-bed temporary workers’ accommodation facility, located 6km from the centre of Dubbo NSW within the Keswick Estate. The site will support workers on the Spicers Creek Wind Farm, but will be flexible enough to expand in the future to accommodate workers from other nearby projects.
Once the site is no longer needed for temporary workforce accommodation, it will be returned to Dubbo Regional Council with infrastructure and civil works – including electricity, sewerage, roads and water – to support a future local housing release. As part of the project, Squadron Energy also contributed to a stormwater retention basin to support the entire Keswick Estate site.
LOCAL CONTEXT
Dubbo plays a central role in NSW’s Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone¹ and is the largest population and service hub in the area. With the city’s airport and growing infrastructure, it is likely to continue to function as a central hub for workers and businesses involved in the delivery of renewable energy infrastructure in the region.
With a housing vacancy rate of 0.73% in May 2025, the region’s housing market is extremely constrained. Dubbo and the surrounding Central West region is likely to host thousands of construction workers employed on renewable energy projects in the next decade.²
CHALLENGES THE PROJECT IS SEEKING TO ADDRESS
Long planning and development lead times are some of the key challenges in delivering housing solutions to meet temporary workforce needs. To ensure housing is available when construction is due to begin, renewable energy companies need to be progressing housing solutions while simultaneously planning renewable energy projects. This comes with an element of risk, as plans must be progressed before a Final Investment Decision is made.
It took 12 to 18 months to get to the point where we could submit a Development Application and then we’d expected a 6 to 9 month process to approval. From approval, it's probably another 6 to 9 months before we can have someone sleeping in the village. The biggest challenge for a project like this is a company’s appetite to stump up capital before Final Investment Decision – it’s a significant amount of money to commit on a renewable energy project that has not yet received its final approval.
Bart Sykes, Regional Economic Development, Squadron Energy
WHAT HAPPENED
Dubbo Regional Council identified cumulative impacts on housing across the region as a key risk from an influx of temporary workers, and commissioned an independent study into the risks and opportunities presented by new developments.
Squadron Energy recognised they would need to house large numbers of temporary workers in the region, so met with the Council to discuss options and potential sites for accommodation facilities.
Dubbo Regional Council identified the Keswick Estate site as a location that could house temporary workers while creating long-term benefits for the community through the provision of local infrastructure.
Squadron Energy agreed to fund and deliver a planning proposal to rezone the land at a density that would allow for workforce accommodation, but could also support future development of permanent housing. Land will be leased from the Council and temporary workforce accommodation will be constructed, supported by permanent civil works and infrastructure.
The workforce accommodation will consist of single rooms with private bathrooms, grouped in “suburbs” of 100 units. These would be supported by shared amenities, such as dining areas, gyms, recreation and health spaces, and landscaped green areas. An integrated facilities manager will be responsible for managing the site, and prioritising procurement and employment from local people and businesses.
Once the temporary accommodation is no longer required, the accommodation structures will be removed and the site will be returned to Council, ready to be converted to residential housing.
KEY BENEFITS THE PROJECT SEEKS TO DELIVER
- Reduce pressure on existing housing and accommodation when temporary workers are in the area, and prepare for legacy housing infrastructure to support future residential development
- Increase worker attraction and retention, with attention to amenity and recreation as well as accommodation, and encourage workers to become long-term community members
LEARNINGS FOR BROADER APPLICATION
Local councils and other local stakeholders are best qualified to identify beneficial housing solutions based on what their community needs.
Communities that proactively gather feedback, investigate opportunities and needs, and develop their own preferred solutions are more likely to be able to shape housing outcomes with long-term benefits. With this project, Dubbo Regional Council played a key role in identifying the land parcel, articulating the region’s housing challenges and opportunities, and proactively seeking solutions.
The reason we were able to come here and progress a development like this is because there’s an appetite to derive benefit from activity in the Renewable Energy Zone, and we were able to pick up a Council-endorsed report that said what they wanted to do with workers’ accommodation and that aligned with what we were thinking.
Bart Sykes, Regional Economic Development, Squadron Energy
Doing this work is easier for larger councils with greater access to internal resources or budgets; however, local councils with fewer resources can still have a large impact if planning begins early enough.
Locating the accommodation within the footprint of Dubbo, rather than in a self-contained camp away from existing population centres, is designed to increase economic benefits to local businesses, as workers can more easily access local retail, entertainment and hospitality services.
Village style accommodation is often not the cheapest option for developers, but it has the least impact on private rental and tourist accommodation. Squadron Energy has committed to engage local trades, particularly First Nations contractors, for construction and ongoing site management.
The Keswick Estate is expected to inject approximately $250 million into the local economy annually, with ongoing opportunities for local businesses in catering, cleaning, security and support services.
Workers on short to medium term contracts may decide to permanently relocate or extend their contracts if they enjoy their time in a region.
Migration of skilled workers to regional towns can boost local economies, increase community vibrancy, add valuable skill sets, encourage additional investment in a local area, and support worker retention for companies competing in a tight labour market for skilled workers.
Attractive temporary worker facilities and consideration of worker well-being and community integration may increase this opportunity for longer-term relocation.
The potential to attract a workforce is often better in a large regional centre. And that bodes well for population growth when we move from construction into operations. If someone’s had a good experience while they were in town, joined a sporting team or met a significant other, they are more likely to consider Dubbo as somewhere they would relocate to permanently.
Bart Sykes, Regional Economic Development, Squadron Energy
Read more examples of innovative workforce accommodation and legacy housing initiatives in the shift to renewable energy in our full report.
¹ REZ are areas designated by State Governments as locations suitable for hosting a concentration of renewable energy projects, transmission lines and energy storage infrastructure such as batteries.
² EnergyCo, Workforce Accommodation Central-West Orana REZ Transmission Project (NSW Government, September 2023) <https://www.energyco.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-09/cwo-rez-fact-sheet-eis-workforce-accommodation.pdf>.
Banner image: Keswick Estate render. (Image credit: Squadron Energy).