Housing and homelessness

Visual snapshots to support Mission Australia’s new analysis (March , 2014) showing pockets of extreme housing stress popping up across the country.

Mission Australia and Mission Australia Housing welcome the opportunity to provide comment on the Northern Territory Government’s Community Housing Strategy. This submission highlights the role Community Housing Providers can play in delivering quality social housing tenancy management which is responsive to the needs of residents and their communities.

Mission Australia’s submission provides recommendations on temporary accommodation and support options. At the same time, we emphasise the need for clear supply targets to drive work and accountability to meet long-term housing supply needs across NSW. Mission Australia’s Tailored Support Coordination Service model for social housing tenants, and partnership with the Department of Communities and Justice on the Fontainbleau transitional pilot program are also highlighted.

This Mission Australia sponsored edition of Parity magazine includes articles written by Mission Australia CEO Catherine Yeomans and Mission Australia Housing Executive Chris Bratchford. They explain why social and affordable housing is key to addressing homelessness and provide a roadmap to changing the trajectory of homelessness in Australia.

The Commission’s review presents the best avenue to make the case to governments for the next Agreement to tether funding to the adoption of clear, shared and accountable policy objectives and targets, which we advocate is best delivered by a national housing and homelessness strategy.

The Centre for Social Impact, UWA and Mission Australia have developed a prototype Homelessness Solutions Model Framework. The aim of the Framework is to inform how Australian governments should allocate resources to end homelessness. It includes a typology of solutions to homelessness, along with data on the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of each solution to draw conclusions about efficient expenditure.

The proposed Victorian Public Housing Renewal Program presents a good opportunity to significantly increase the number of well-located public housing units which can be maximised to significantly increase the housing stock. The submission encouraged the government to set clear targets to reduce homelessness, use the housing investment opportunity to build stronger communities, reform planning laws and a range of other practical measures. 

In this paper, Mission Australia comment on the overall intent of the resource allocation, as well as the impacts of adopting the methodology described and to put forward suggestions for ways to improve the methodology to better reflect the needs of people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

This submission focused on the NSW government’s response to COVID-19 and the implementation of the Homelessness Strategy with a focus on prevention and early intervention measures, effective supports and responses and the need for an integrated, person centred support system.

Mission Australia’s submission encouraged the Federal Treasury to take into account the needs of people experiencing financial disadvantages. The submission made a range of recommendations including the need to increase access to safe, secure and affordable housing and equity across the retirement income system.

Mission Australia is a supporter of Make Renting Fair QLD campaign and supported the proposed legislative amendments that were closely aligned with the campaign. We also made additional recommendations in relation to strengthening capacity of tenants to exercise and enforce their rights, additional financial and other supports for people experiencing additional challenges in the rental market such as people with disability, people experiencing financial disadvantages and those escaping domestic and family violence.

Our submission advocates for social and affordable housing to be included as a key issue within the Liveable Settlements topic of the future Tasmanian Planning Policies. It is critical that Tasmania’s planning system supports adequate and appropriate housing that meets the needs of all in the community.

Mission Australia supported the Sydney Alliance submission to the Greater Sydney Commission’s Draft Greater Sydney Region Plan and revised District Plans. The submission identified a range of recommendations on greater commitment to Affordable Rental Housing, transparent accountability and fairer access to Affordable Rental Housing. 

We call for a $500m Prevention Transformation Fund and 1 million social and affordable homes over the next 20 years to transform the homelessness service system to end homelessness. The National Plan must: adopt a systems approach to housing and homelessness; deliver affordable permanent housing for all; boost homelessness prevention measures; maintain homelessness crisis measures; and embed accountability, data collection and performance reporting.

The submission contains recommendations for investing in the housing and homelessness systems to move to a credible path to end homelessness and provide everyone with a safe and affordable home, and the adoption of targets and measures to drive work and monitor progress.

This report was written by the City Futures Research Centre at the University of NSW and commissioned by Mission Australia, the St Vincent de Paul Society NSW, Social Futures, The Salvation Army Australia, the Australian Red Cross, and the Tenants’ Union of NSW. It shows that action needs to be taken to safeguard regional Australians against homelessness and displacement as severe weather events become more common.