Streamlining Delivery at Aboriginal Housing Victoria with UniPhi

Overview

Aboriginal Housing Victoria (AHV) is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to providing safe and affordable housing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Its mission extends beyond building homes, it is about strengthening culture, supporting families, and ensuring developments create lasting value for the community.

As AHV grew, the organisation recognised that the way it managed capital works needed to evolve. Projects were previously tracked using spreadsheets, documents, and siloed tools. While workable on a small scale, this fragmented system created inefficiencies and made it difficult to oversee important government grants, construction contracts, and financial reporting.

As AHV grew its asset team, it welcomed new people with experience from other housing providers. Among them was a Contract Administrator who had overseen the rollout of UniPhi software elsewhere as a system administrator with the skills to configure and run the platform day-to-day. Together, they helped AHV see the potential of UniPhi as a centralised project management solution.

By drawing on their past experience, the team demonstrated how UniPhi could replace these manual processes with one integrated system. Today, UniPhi sits at the heart of AHV’s capital works program, managing budgets, contracts, progress claims, and revenue streams in a single platform, while linking directly with Microsoft Business Central to support finance and payment processes

“We were introduced to UniPhi software through sector experience, and we are glad to have made it part of how we work. Having everything in one place, from contracts to cashflow reporting, has given us greater confidence and control over our projects.”

– Drago Chikitch, Director, Assets and Development, AHV

Challenge

As AHV expanded its capital works program, the complexity of managing projects also grew. Each Development Manager relied on their own tools, experience and personal methods, often a mix of Excel spreadsheets, Word documents, and Microsoft Project schedules. Finance teams used separate systems like “Magic” for budgeting and forecasting, and “Logic” for contract administration. Business Central was in place for accounting, but it operated in isolation from project delivery.

This patchwork of systems created several issues:

• Fragmented processes – Development Managers worked in silos, each with their own approach to cost tracking and approvals.

• Lack of integration – Key systems like Business Central could not speak directly with project data, leading to duplication and delays.

• Manual handling – Invoices, variations, and approvals required back-and-forth through emails and documents, increasing the risk of errors.

• Limited oversight – Without consistent reporting, leadership had little real-time visibility into budgets, cashflow, and project progress.

The challenge wasn’t just technical, it was also organisational. AHV had new leaders joining the team who understood from experience that a structured, centralised system was essential, having used UniPhi software before. They knew that with the right central project management system, AHV could reap significant organisational benefits while meeting its funding commitments and delivering on a growing pipeline of housing developments.

For a not-for-profit entrusted with government grants to deliver safe and affordable housing, the stakes were high. AHV needed to standardise its processes, create a single source of truth, and build confidence that every contract, claim, and report could be relied upon

Solution

AHV implemented UniPhi in a phased rollout, taking an active role in shaping the system to fit its needs. Rather than a top-down deployment, the approach was collaborative. AHV’s team worked closely with UniPhi consultants and integration specialists, ensuring the platform reflected the organisation’s processes while building a foundation that could evolve over time.

The first phase focused on establishing core project controls and linking them with finance. This provided immediate improvements in consistency, transparency, and oversight.

Key processes now managed in UniPhi software include:

• Cost and Revenue Management – Budgets, grant revenue, and builder contracts are all established in UniPhi, giving AHV one source of truth for financials.

• Contract Administration – Builder invoices are processed as certified progress claims. Variations are raised, approved, and logged directly in the system, standardising workflows and removing reliance on email.

• Business Central Integration – A third-party integration, supported by UniPhi consultants, allows approved claims in UniPhi to flow directly into AHV’s finance system for payment. Payment statuses sync back, ensuring both project managers and finance teams see the same information.

• Document and Issues Management – Supporting documentation, deeds, and approvals are created and linked within UniPhi, while project activities are tracked in the Issues module, creating a full audit trail.

• Reporting – Monthly cost reports, cashflow forecasts, and contract registers are generated automatically within the system, providing real-time visibility for leadership and funding bodies.

“With UniPhi integrated to Business Central, we no longer worry about mismatched data or delays. Everything is connected, transparent, and auditable, which is essential for a housing provider entrusted with government funding.”

– Natalie Zugec, Contracts Administrator, AHV

Conclusion

The rollout of UniPhi at AHV is more than a technology upgrade, it is a story of people and experience coming together at the right time. The Director, Assets and Development who had used UniPhi in another organisation recognised the value it could bring to AHV. Later, a Contracts Administrator joined, having also used UniPhi before, and together they guided the organisation toward a central system that could manage budgets, contracts, progress claims, and financial data in one place.

What began as knowledge carried from past roles became a lasting solution for AHV. Today, UniPhi software underpins its capital works program enabling AHV to focus on providing safe and affordable housing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

“This is a wonderful example of how the right people, with the right tools, can create real impact. UniPhi wasn’t just chosen as software, it was recommended by people who trusted it from experience, and now it’s helping AHV deliver housing that makes a difference. That’s the kind of story we’re proud to be part of.”

– Mark Heath, CEO, UniPhi