About
Grounded Community Land Trust Advocacy (Grounded) is a not-for-profit organisation established to advocate, incubate and accelerate the development of Community Land Trusts in Australia. The group has come together to ensure a diverse mix of housing models is possible.
Our name is borne out of the need for more realistic land prices, out of grounding a community with a commitment to not only the best practices on land and housing economics, but also on the social side, with a commitment to social change
Our Staff
“One CLT can do more for housing affordability than 400,000 lots in the development pipeline.”
Karl Fitzgerald, Managing Director
Karl Fitzgerald, the founder and Director of Grounded, is an economist and former Director of Research at Prosper Australia, where he led an innovative research and reform agenda over 18 years. His work focused on the role of speculative investment and its impact on housing affordability. In his role at Prosper, Karl directed the Speculative Vacancy reports series for over 14 years. This led to the establishment of the Victorian Vacancy Tax, which the UN Special Rapporteur favourably referenced.
Karl also played a pivotal role in advocating for Victoria’s Rezoning Windfall Gains Tax. This was introduced to return rezoning profits back to communities for vital infrastructure, including public transport and schools. Prosper’s Staged Releases report, authored by Karl and published in 2022, disproved the myth that housing supply trickles down into affordability, critiquing the edifice that the current housing affordability policy rides on. Read the Op-ed about how developers use ‘gold tape’ to maximise profits.
Karl believes that a community-led alternative is urgently required and Community Land Trusts are the vehicle needed. This will provide an important alternative to the dominant housing models, adding competitive pressures whilst foregrounding equity and justice.
Amy Grenfell, Partnerships, Projects, Comms
Amy Grenfell works at the intersection of campaigning, systems design and delivery, across partnerships, project management and evaluation. She is motivated by the belief that complex systems only shift when people work together across sectors, geographies and generations. Her experience spans global advocacy and funding influence, place based community-led responses to housing and homelessness, and building sector capability through tools, training and evidence-led storytelling. Amy is passionate about long term affordable housing and creating the governance, stewardship and shared values that help communities lead and solutions last.
“Lasting change is built into the system. Housing is where justice becomes real, and when land is held in shared stewardship and decisions are made with community, homes move out of profit-driven market dynamics and into long term care. That’s how people can put down roots, communities can thrive, and affordability can hold over generations – the foundation we need to shift bigger systems together, across sectors and across generations.”
Chair
Tom Alexander
Housing Programs Manager
Vice Chair
Alex Stott
Events and Community Development
Secretary
Amy Grenfell
Impact, Evaluation, Storytelling
and Capital Raising
Treasurer
Matt Doran
IT Entrepreneur
Board Member
John Shone
Foodbuilt Entrepreneur
Board Member
Charlie Hewitt
Affordable Housing Coordinator
Board Member
Jaclyn Marquis
Public Intellect and Governance
Our values
Grounded has been built on a foundation of core values that guide and direct all of the work we do.
We are:
Grounded in recognition
We acknowledge that the land that we live, work and learn on has been expertly managed by First Nations people for tens of thousands of years.
Grounded in place
We believe that land needs to be managed and cared for according to its unique, place-specific needs.
Grounded in ecology
We believe that responsible land management is critical to addressing our interwoven spiritual, social and environmental crises.
Grounded in justice
We believe that everybody deserves a home to call their own and a piece of land to nurture and protect in posterity.
Grounded in equity
We believe that land values must be grounded to the reality of our incomes in order to ensure affordability over seven generations.
Grounded in responsibility
We recognise our responsibility to future generations to build a greener, fairer, more equitable and kinder world.
Grounded in community
We understand that there has never been a more important time for people to come together around a shared vision for what our collective future can be.
Annual Reports:
2025 Annual Report
2024 Annual Report
2023 Annual Report
Registered as Grounded Community Land Trust Advocacy Inc
ABN 54 131 330 120