Loshana Karthikeya CA works at the centre of one of the most pressing social issues facing Australia: helping First Nations people find suitable housing. Karthikeya is director of performance and finance with the Aboriginal Housing Office (AHO), the government body in New South Wales that helps First Nations people find quality and affordable housing.
Over the years, Karthikeya and her team have secured and managed significant funding for the AHO, resulting in increased housing, maintenance, and solar energy and air conditioning for tenants.
“We've got a revenue budget of more than A$300 million a year,” she says. “We've got assets worth A$5 billion and I’m responsible for the end-to-end management, visibility and oversight of the finance function.”
The AHO 10-year Strong Family, Strong Communities strategy to find suitable housing for New South Wales’s First Nations families and communities started in 2018. In 2024, the AHO’s various programs invested A$139.4 million to deliver 134 new homes, complete 15 new homes across the Aboriginal Community Housing Provider sector and carry out 1618 property upgrades.
The AHO’s focus is on helping tenants, supporting home ownership, increasing the supply of housing and updating existing homes. It seems working at AHO is the sort of job Karthikeya was destined for.
“I started my career working for AMP as an investment accountant in the private equity team,” she says. “After I left AMP, I went on to contract in various roles and I did five years working in the financial planning industry.
“I quickly realised that working on my own didn't really work for me. My passion is helping people while working with numbers in a team environment, so that’s when I decided maybe I should work for the government because I’d get to help people there.”
Collaboration is key
Six years ago, the United Nations issued a report delivering some home truths about severe housing difficulties faced by Indigenous people in many countries, including Australia and New Zealand.
More recently, Australia’s Closing the Gap report says the issue is a priority health and welfare concern. It has a 2031 target to increase to 88% the proportion of First Nations people living in appropriately sized (not overcrowded) housing – up from the 81% recorded in 2021.
Although things have been improving, there’s concern the 2031 target will not be met.
Likewise, a report this year into Indigenous housing by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) said one in eight First Nations households have unmet housing needs – about twice the rate of all Australian households.
There are more than 278,000 First Nations people in New South Wales, the largest number of any state. As a result, AHO’s job is a big one – many clients, many stakeholders, many things to be done.
Unsurprisingly, during her 13 years at AHO, Karthikeya has learned to be collaborative.
“You’ve got to be hard working, you’ve got to be resilient and you’ve got to be able to be flexible in your approach – I’ve learned all of those things,” she says.
Two further things Karthikeya has learned are to seek practical solutions, not necessarily perfection and, in some circumstances, to be prepared to take a calculated risk – by having a plan B or plan C up your sleeve, just in case.
What you also need is the ability to consult, understand what motivates stakeholders and forge relationships.
In a state as big as New South Wales, that can involve meeting and chatting on home turf.
“You've got to go and talk with people and maybe even in an environment that is not formal,” says Karthikeya. “The Aboriginal Housing Office does a lot of ‘yarning’ sessions where we talk about issues with the community and what they’re facing.”
A purpose-driven career
Karthikeya’s career is a good example of how CAs can follow a diverse career and lend their expertise to make people's lives better.
So, what’s next?
“I obviously want to get more funding for the AHO and scale up its positive impact across New South Wales,” Karthikeya says.
To that end, she and her team are exploring new ways of securing funding, including public-private partnerships.
And possibly beyond that?
“Look, I'll be at a purpose-driven organisation, that's all I know,” she says. “I always want to be working somewhere that makes a difference."