{"id":671613,"date":"2026-05-15T01:49:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T01:49:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/671613\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T01:49:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T01:49:17","slug":"mount-isa-homes-to-be-sold-after-indigenous-organisation-fails-to-pay-rates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/671613\/","title":{"rendered":"Mount Isa homes to be sold after Indigenous organisation fails to pay rates"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the kettle whistles, Kerry Major pours boiling water into a red bucket and walks down the hallway. It is time for her shower.<\/p>\n

The home she rents in Mount Isa has not had hot water for years. The taps leak, window screens are missing and the flies are winning the battle.<\/p>\n

But with vacancy rates in the city near zero Ms Major feels lucky to have a roof over her head.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

Kerry Major has been living without hot water and basic maintenance for years. (ABC North West Qld: Tim Little)<\/p>\n

“Hot water is essential for every man and their dog, but as long as I had a roof over my head that was what was important to me,” the 60-year-old said.<\/p>\n

“For me, it’s home.”<\/p>\n

But after nearly a decade in the house Ms Major is at risk of homelessness, along with more than a dozen other families whose properties have also been listed for auction.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

ATSICFWS owns 25 properties in Mount Isa, 10 of which have been abandoned. (ABC News: Tim Little)<\/p>\n

‘There’s no hope for us’<\/p>\n

Ms Major’s is one of 25 homes owned by Mount Isa’s only Indigenous social housing group, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation for Welfare Services (ATSICFWS).<\/p>\n

After almost $1 million in rates went unpaid over five years, Mount Isa City Council moved to auction the properties, 15 of which are occupied, from July 1.<\/p>\n

Ms Major said her grandchild, son and partner would end up without anywhere to live.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Residents in 15 affected properties were served letters informing them their homes could be auctioned from July one.\u00a0 (Supplied)<\/p>\n

“Where have I got to go to live?” she said.<\/p>\n

“We’re going to be homeless. My grannies are going to be homeless.<\/p>\n

“There’s no hope for us.”<\/p>\n

Many of the remaining properties are dilapidated and in need of major repairs.<\/p>\n

A Queensland Department of Housing and Public Works spokesperson said the department were assisting where possible, but Indigenous housing was primarily the federal government’s responsibility.<\/p>\n

The spokesperson said the department was working with the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) to help affected tenants.<\/p>\n

“This includes information on housing options such as social housing, private rental market products and services to help secure a rental and potential loan options to help tenants purchase the homes they currently occupy,” they said.<\/p>\n

The spokesperson said the Mount Isa Housing Service Centre was working with several families that have sought help.<\/p>\n

The NIAA confirmed it was working with the state government.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Years of warnings<\/p>\n

In Queensland, if property owners fail to pay rates for more than three years councils can take action to sell their property.<\/p>\n

Mount Isa City Council chief executive Tim Rose acknowledged such action could result in families becoming homeless but said significant lenience had already been afforded.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Tim Rose says the council is working to recover $1 million in unpaid rates. (Supplied: Tim Rose)<\/p>\n

“Council has extended the time frames as much as possible to allow for the ATSICFWS to resolve the matters,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Council cannot continue to ignore an aged debt of this quantum. ATSICFWS has not sought to engage with council to resolve this matter.<\/p>\n

“Council would welcome ATSICFWS using its resources to resolve this matter in the interests of tenants, other council ratepayers and the broader Mount Isa community.<\/p>\n

“ATSICFWS should never have allowed this to get to this stage and still has time to resolve this matter.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Tim Rose says council delayed the decision to begin selling the properties for as long as possible. (ABC North West Qld: Tim Little)<\/p>\n

A corporation under scrutiny<\/p>\n

The corporation, registered under Mount Isa-born Virginia Mayo, has a history of compliance issues with the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations (ORIC).<\/p>\n

In 2025, ORIC issued the corporation a $15,000 penalty for failing to lodge financial reports dating back to 2018.<\/p>\n

In 2013, the federal court found former chairwoman Leigh Kerkhoffs, now a director of the Kalkadoon native title body, improperly wrote off about $380,000 in rent debts owed to the corporation, including more than $23,000 of her own debt.<\/p>\n

ORIC, which regulates Indigenous corporations under federal legislation, has the power to place corporations under special administration or deregister them for failing to submit documents.<\/p>\n

Despite years of noncompliance, the corporation remains registered and Ms Mayo remains eligible to serve as a director.<\/p>\n

Ms Mayo did not respond to multiple requests for comment from the ABC.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for ORIC said the organisation had a range of regulatory tools at its disposal.<\/p>\n

“ORIC does not comment on the detailed chronology leading to individual prosecutions,” the spokeswoman said.<\/p>\n

“Consistent with ORIC’s graduated compliance approach, a range of regulatory and compliance responses may be used before a matter proceeds to prosecution.”<\/p>\n

Preparing for the bush<\/p>\n

As Ms Major sips her tea on her front porch, she weighs up her options.<\/p>\n

If she moves in with relatives already in social housing, she could jeopardise their tenancies.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

Facing possible eviction and unable to afford a rental, Kerry Major says she will likely have to live in the bush. (ABC North West Qld: Tim Little)<\/p>\n

But sleeping rough through a Mount Isa winter is hardly an alternative.<\/p>\n

“I can’t rent private because it’s too expensive,” Ms Major said.<\/p>\n

“I can’t go to Queensland Housing because technically I earn too much. I can’t move in with family because of overcrowding.<\/p>\n

“I won’t burden my family.<\/p>\n

“Our only option is a caravan park or \u2026 for me, is out bush.”<\/p>\n

Resigned to her situation, Ms Major just wants to see someone held accountable.<\/p>\n

“We’re at risk of living in a tent,” she said.<\/p>\n

“Nobody wants to own the failure of it.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As the kettle whistles, Kerry Major pours boiling water into a red bucket and walks down the hallway.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":671614,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[324103,324105,64,63,99,324102,324107,324104,324100,324101,324108,324106],"class_list":["post-671613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-corporation-for-welfare-services","tag-atsicfws","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business","tag-housing-commission-mount-isa","tag-leigh-kerkhoffs","tag-mount-isa-city-council","tag-mount-isa-rental-vacancy","tag-mount-isa-social-housing","tag-registrar-of-indigenous-corporations","tag-virginia-mayo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=671613"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671613\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/671614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=671613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=671613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=671613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}