Johnston Capital Advisory is a specialist consultancy led by Rowena Johnston. The firm advises clients on capital strategy, investment governance and funding structures across housing, infrastructure, and real estate.

Rowena’s experience includes work on the Social and Affordable Housing Fund, a major initiative supporting the delivery of social and affordable housing at scale. Her role involved navigating complex funding, policy and stakeholder requirements, and helping develop workable structures for a multi-stage program.

The project reflects her ability to work across government, finance and housing delivery, bringing clarity to technical issues and supporting practical pathways to execution.

The project involved a public-private partnership bid process and delivery across the Victorian Big Housing Build Ground Lease Models 1 and 2. Rowena’s involvement was integral to the outcome as it required design and assessment of all three bids submitted for the program, funding structures and long-term delivery considerations, implementation and management of information barrier protocols, and approval of funding structures for competitive bids.

Rowena was a key partner in developing an innovative funding structure for frontline worker housing adjacent to Westmead Hospital.

The project was the first to bring institutional capital into community housing without ongoing government subsidy, demonstrating how private investment can support affordable housing outcomes through clear, credible structures. It has since become a benchmark for innovative funding in the community housing and development sectors.

Earlier in her banking career, Rowena funded the acquisition of a landmark Sydney CBD site for a key client. Sharing the client’s long-term vision for the site, allowed her to see the potential and deploy capital, resulting in the acquisition and design of what would become Sydney’s tallest building.

The project reflects her experience in major property funding, client-side capital support, and complex urban development.

Rowena was a founding executive of Housing Australia and an integral part of the design, development and deployment of the Housing Australia Bond Aggregator, now an important funding mechanism for the sector.

The initiative was created to improve access to cheaper, longer-term finance for community housing providers. It demonstrates Rowena’s understanding of how new financial models can be shaped and brought to market while building confidence with investors, markets, government and the housing industry.

Rowena’s previous work includes involvement in the design and development of the Housing Australia Future Fund Facility, created to support social and affordable housing over the long term.

Her experience across the program included funding design, legislative implementation, and investment architecture, helping connect policy objectives with market delivery.