A home is more than bricks and mortar. It’s where friendships grow, routines take shape and everyday life happens on your terms.

For a group of Ability WA customers in Kenwick, that next chapter is about to begin.

Customers, families and project partners recently came together to celebrate the official opening of a new Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) development in Kenwick, created around the people who will soon call it home.

The opening comes during Ability WA’s 75th year, marking another chapter in a story that has always been grounded in choice, independence and supporting people with disability to live the lives they choose.

Designed with customers, not just for them

When planning for the new homes began in 2023, there was an important question to answer first: what do the people who will live here actually want?

For the residents, one thing was clear. They wanted to stay in Kenwick.

Many have lived together for years, building friendships and connections within a community they know and love. Moving into a home that better supported their needs shouldn’t mean giving those things up.

So, eight residents were involved in shaping the development, helping inform everything from how individual homes function to how the wider space supports connection and community.

It’s an approach that reflects something we know well at Ability WA: the right home looks different for everyone.

A home built around everyday life

For Robert, the new home means having an accessible kitchen where he can do something he has been looking forward to for a long time: cooking a roast lamb dinner for his housemates.

For Flippy, it means having enough room for her rabbits and beautiful natural light to inspire her work through her poetry business, Golden Umbrella.

Award-winning artist Lindy, known for her emu paintings, will share her new home with Tom, who is looking forward to the friendship and social life that comes with living together.

Amanda loves music and is looking forward to having a room where she can enjoy the peace she values.

And for Ian, choosing his new room was an experience to share with his mum and dad, touring each one before deciding on his favourite.

There’s also one feature that has been especially popular with everyone: having their own bathroom.

Because sometimes independence is found in the big things. Sometimes it’s having the privacy of your own ensuite.

It’s these everyday details that turn a house into someone’s home.

Staying connected to the community they know

The new Kenwick homes were created through a partnership between Ability WA and Foundation Housing, alongside the wider project team.

The development has also been recognised with the Judges’ Award at the 2026 UDIA WA Awards for Excellence, acknowledging the collaborative approach taken to designing housing around the needs of the people who will ultimately live there.

But the real measure of the project is what happens next.

It’s Robert cooking for his friends. Flippy writing with her rabbits nearby. Lindy creating art. Tom spending time with his housemates. Amanda listening to music. Ian settling into the room he chose for himself.

It’s having a home where the environment works around the person, rather than expecting the person to work around their environment.

The right support, when it’s needed

Moving day isn’t the end of Ability WA’s involvement.

Our team will continue providing personalised support to help customers live safely and confidently in their new homes, with support available when it’s needed and space for independence when it’s not.

It’s part of our approach to Home & Living: understanding what matters to each person and creating the right combination of home, support and community around them.

The new Kenwick homes show what can happen when customers, families, housing providers, designers, builders and support teams work together and start by listening.

Seventy-five years ago, Ability WA began with a belief that people with disability should have the opportunity to live a life of their own choosing.

Yesterday, for a group of customers in Kenwick, that idea has a new front door.

Welcome home.

To learn more about Ability WA’s Home and Living options, call 1300 106 106, email info@abilitywa.com.au or submit an enquiry through our website.