Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer advises the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) in relation to purpose-built student accommodation project in Darwin

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer (HSF Kramer) has advised the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) in relation to Campus Living Villages’ development of more than 400 new purpose-built student accommodation beds in the Northern Territory.

The project consists of two main components: 

• the primary Darwin CBD project, which will see the creation of a 14-storey, purpose-built student accommodation tower next to Charles Darwin University’s Danala campus; and 
• a secondary Casuarina campus project, which involves the addition of 49 new beds and an upgrade of existing facilities at Charles Darwin University’s Casuarina campus. 

NAIF is providing up to $74 million in concessional financing to support Campus Living Villages with the development expected to support the growth of higher education in northern Australia and address the shortage of purpose-built student accommodation in Darwin. 

The project is forecast to contribute over $200 million in economic impact for the Northern Territory over the next 20 years, and is expected to generate 302 jobs during the build and 44 ongoing roles once operational. 

The HSF Kramer team advising NAIF was led by Finance Partner Lucy McCullagh, with support from Finance Senior Associate Edward Kerr and Finance Solicitor Cecilia Mak. Projects, Energy & Infrastructure (PEI) Partner and Global Head of Infrastructure Sector, Nicholas Carney, led the project document advice on the matter, with support from PEI Senior Associate Frances del Rosario, and PEI Solicitor Raihan Hossain. 

Lead Partner Lucy McCullagh commented: “This transaction is a great example of NAIF’s mandate in action — deploying patient, long-term capital to unlock critical social infrastructure that will benefit students, Charles Darwin University and the broader Darwin community for decades to come. This is exactly the kind of high-impact project that northern Australia needs and we were delighted to support NAIF and Campus Living Villages in getting this deal across the line.”

HSF Kramer has a long history of supporting clients to finance or deliver student accommodation and social infrastructure projects. Other recent examples include advising: 

• The Living Company on its partnership with Mirvac to deliver student housing on the site of the old Sydney Fish Market at Blackwattle Bay
• The lenders in relation to the financing of Stage 2 of the Student Accommodation at Australia’s Griffith University, developed by Campus Living Villages
• Commonwealth Bank on the financing of 1,141 affordable homes across Victoria and Queensland
• Foundation Housing on 213 social and affordable homes in Perth’s Murdoch Precinct
• Conscious Investment Management on affordable housing debt financing
• Foundation Housing on $280 million HAFF funding to deliver more social and affordable homes in WA