Queensland Jurisdictional Report Overview of social housing trends in Queensland from a regional providers perspective

Introduction & Acknowledgment Rodney Watton Executive Director YWCA Downs & South West QLD (and a bit nervous) “Acknowledging the traditional owners of this land paying respect to the elders past and present”

Housing Environment In Queensland Rapid Population Growth Booming Economy (?) Low Unemployment (?) Affordable housing shortage Low vacancy rates (rising rents) Low levels of Social Housing

Population Growth June % national population 2008 growth 2.3%, 0.6% greater than the national growth Source: OFFICE OF ECONOMIC AND STATISTICAL RESEARCH

Booming Economy ? & Low Unemployment ? QLD to go from feast to famine? Brisbane Times: Shannon Molloy | January 19, :14AM “Queensland's booming resources sector faces collapse this year as commodity prices plummet, resulting in a "famine" in the engineering and commercial construction industries that could cause unemployment to soar.”

However ! “While the news is grim, Access believes there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Ongoing population growth is likely to insulate the residential property market from any severe or sustained slowdown. The group also believes Queensland's "irrepressibly strong growth fundamentals" will return by 2011 or 2012, aided by a rebound in emerging Asian economies.” Source qldb/2009/01/19/ html

Affordable housing shortage Housing survey prompts calls to free up land 26 January 2009 “The Housing Industry Association (HIA) says an international housing affordability survey highlights a shortage of land for development in south-east Queensland. Public policy group Demographia identified the Sunshine Coast as the least affordable housing market in the world, while the Gold Coast is ranked third and Brisbane ranked in the 20s.” Source:

Low levels of Social Housing Low base of public and community housing Queensland Shelter’s 2009/2010 Pre-budget submission “Queensland still has a relatively low base of social housing in comparison to other States and Territories and the national average. Queensland has a social housing base of 3.5% compared with the national average of 5%.”

One Social Housing System Queensland Governments policy response to the housing environment

One Social Housing System Common eligibility criteria Combined Wait-list and Applicant Referral Process Allocations Policy Duration of Need Policy

Common eligibility criteria all applicants of registered providers funded under the Boarding House Program, Community Rent Scheme, Long Term Community Housing Program and affordable housing providers will be assessed using the common eligibility criteria. Applicants are assessed against common criteria including: 1. residency; 2. property; 3. independent income; and 4. household income. Source:

Combined Wait-list and Applicant Referral Process One application process One Housing Register Managed by DOH Referring to both public and community housing Source:

Allocations Policy The Departments is implementing a 2 stage Allocations Policy: Segmented Waitlist Provider Allocation Source

Duration of Need From Feb 2007 all new (social housing) Tenants will have their tenancy reviewed at either 4 or 10 years to determine in they still need social housing Source: