MPARNTWE presenter
David Donald offers a grounded perspective on the complex intersections of housing and health in remote Australian communities, informed by decades of listening, observing, and working on the ground, around the world. His work as an architect and Director of Healthabitat speaks to the broader role design thinking can play beyond traditional practice to create meaningful change.
DAVID DONALD
Healthabitat
David is both an Architect and Director of Healthabitat, an organisation that has spent the past 30 years working with local communities to improve the health of people living in poverty, by using data to fix and advocate for better housing. Through Healthabitat he manages Housing for Health projects across NSW and NT remote Aboriginal Communities.
David is currently the Program Manager for Healthabitat’s international projects and has managed water and sanitation projects in Nepal, South Africa and Indonesia. David’s latest international project involves training and mentoring a Brooklyn based NGO who are running a Housing for Health project (under a Healthabitat Licence) in Brownsville NYC.
Formerly a resident of both Garramilla (Darwin) and Mparntwe (Alice Springs), David managed the Housing Division of Tangentyere Council across the 18 Town Camp Communities of Mparntwe during the years preceding and following the NT Intervention and oversaw its transition into Community Housing Central Australia (CHCA) where he remains an independent Director. Passionate about health and housing, he is a strong advocate for the critical role of preventative maintenance systems across community and social housing as a means to reduce the impacts of crowding, homelessness and improve health.
EVENT INFO
MPARNTWE (Alice Springs)
DATES September 11-13 2025
LOCATION Mparntwe (Alice Springs) & Tjoritja (West MacDonnell National park)
CPD 10 formal points available across the event
Nepal, image courtesy Healhabitat
Mulan, image courtesy Healhabitat
Image courtesy Healhabitat
