The ballot
Our homes are sold through a simple balloting process that gives everyone a fair chance of becoming a Nightingale owner. Read on to find out how to enter the ballot and why your chances are better than you may think.
Anyone can enter an open ballot. There is no wait list to enter a ballot. Those who qualify for our priority ballot (see below) have a slightly better chance of being successful.
After announcing a new project and holding two information sessions, Nightingale will make an information package (PDF) available that contains all the details of the project, including floorplans and pricing of each apartment. From this point onwards, our digital ballot is open for entries and you’ll have two weeks to complete the ballot form indicating which apartments you are interested in purchasing. It doesn’t matter when you submit your ballot, as long as you do so before the closing date.
Pre-allocation
Up to 10% of apartments will be pre-allocated to the project team. The project team includes Nightingale Housing staff, project architect staff and Nightingale Housing collaborators directly involved with the project. By experiencing a project first hand, we believe our team are better able to continuously improve upon the delivery of Nightingale projects.
Up to 20% of apartments will be pre-allocated to community housing providers (CHP). All residents allocated via a CHP stream will have access to support services and will be Nightingale Housing values-aligned.
Priority ballot
To help with creating equity within our communities, Nightingale is committed to providing quality housing for individuals who provide key services or contributions to our communities. We are also committed in assisting minority members of society gain access to social participation and secure housing.
As such, each Nightingale project allocates — through a priority ballot process — up to 20% of homes to so-called ‘key community contributors’, individuals with a disability, carers, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and women, trans people and gender diverse people aged 55 and over. Entry in the priority ballot is open to all persons over the age of 18 who meet the respective priority criteria. Those unsuccessful in the priority ballot will be included in the project’s standard ballot. Read more about our priority ballot policy here.
Committing to purchase
Entering the ballot is a commitment to buy an apartment, if offered. While it’s free to enter the ballot, it’s important that you only enter if you are in a position to purchase a Nightingale home. In other words, only ballot for an apartment if you are committed to purchasing it. Should you be successful in a ballot but decline the apartment you are offered, you will be excluded from future Nightingale ballots.
On ballot day
On ballot day, two separate ballots are drawn: first, the priority ballot (see above) and then, once the priority allocations are exhausted, the general ballot.
After the draw, we contact all balloters and let them know whether they have been successful or unsuccessful. It’s important to keep an eye on your phone on ballot day, so that we can confirm the ballot result with you. We ask that you assign a proxy to accept on your behalf if you can’t take our call. Successful balloters must verbally accept their allocated apartment, after which we send them our commitment agreement.
Formalising the commitment
Successful balloters have five business days to complete and return our commitment agreement form and pay the $10,000 commitment fee. More about this process here.
Unsuccessful ballots
If you’re not allocated an apartment during the ballot, you’ll be added to a 'the bench'. Sometimes people have to pull out due to unanticipated circumstances, and apartments become available.
Further, if you are unsuccessful twice in a Nightingale ballot, on your third attempt you will automatically be entered into the priority ballot. If you are unsuccessful three times, you will be offered a pre-allocation for the next Nightingale building.