The Priority Project - Queensland

Homelessness

Fortitude Valley, 4006

The Priority Project (TPP) involves the prioritisation of private rentals to provide appropriate housing for women who have experienced domestic and family violence in South East Queensland.
Mission Australia and The Salvation Army are delivering this service to provide assistance to women can afford a private rental. This involves working with real estate Property Managers to secure a home, plus providing transition and ongoing tenancy sustainment support for women housed. Landlords are asked to prioritise rentals to women who need a hand. This program does not involve headleasing but provides extra support to tenants who sign a Tenancy Agreement independently.

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What you can do

Women looking for private rental - please first contact your Case Manager. If you don’t have a Case Manager, we can help connect you to one who can share available rentals and help you with your application. Applications for Priority Project rentals need to be completed quickly and are subject to your eligibility – please review the criteria below.

If you are a Property Manager - you are our most valuable and critical partners and we are keen to work together! Supporting this project does not mean great changes to your normal processes. In fact, it may reduce time spent securing tenants. Please reach out, especially when existing tenancies are due to end, such as when a tenant is being asked to vacate. Property owners who wish to participate can voluntarily offer their properties to the Private Rentals Register.

Property Managers prioritising women in need

Organisations supporting women into housing in a new way

Contact us for more information about the project, including any questions and concerns you may have. The referral process, including required checks and supports, has been mapped out and will continue to evolve as the project progresses.

Project partners and history

This project is a partnership between community services, real-estate agents and property owners. Stakeholders have been designing this first-of-its-kind solution over a couple of years, supported by The Constellation Project. Mission Australia is now facilitating a pilot which has been made possible through philanthropic funding. Pilot partners also include The Salvation Army and McGrath North Lakes. The pilot will be evaluated with the intention of the project continuing – as it scales across SEQ.

The Priority Project location

At first, the focus council areas are Moreton Bay, Brisbane, Redlands and Logan. The locations shown here are where the project's Partnership Broker is based. Case Managers referring women work across SEQ.

Who we assist

Current service participants of Housing and/or Domestic and Family Violence Services.
Please ask your Case Manager to contact us. If you don’t have a Case Manager, we can connect you to one.

Eligibility criteria

1. Women are referred by a Housing and/or Domestic and Family Violence Service (HDFVS). Services need to ensure continuity of care for women throughout the tenancy. This ensures appropriate risk assessments are already in place and the referring service has a commitment to support the woman during her tenancy.

2. Women applying have enough income to afford weekly payments – this generally means women can afford to spend 30%-40% of their income on rent (see Referral Process).

3. Women must be able to afford a weekly rental of at least $400 (this would be for 1 bedroom).

4. Applications need to be submitted within 5 days – before rentals are advertised online, or so applications are prioritised alongside others.

Referral process

Referrals are received from Housing and/or Domestic and Family Violence Service (HDFVS) in SEQ.
Mission Australia and The Salvation Army will coordinate support for eligible women if their current HDFVS cannot provide ongoing, structured support. A woman can choose when case management support is no longer required.
HDFVS please note that Property Managers are not accepting tenancy applications that are 40-50% of a woman’s income (regular and/or Centerlink income). There is some project funding for rental subsidies. Please don’t submit referrals for women until you confirm they meet the 4 eligibility criteria as we don’t want stakeholders to be disappointed.

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