INDIGENOUS HOUSING NEED AND MAINSTREAM PUBLIC HOUSING ACCESS AND SUSTAINABILITY RESPONSES

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INDIGENOUS HOUSING NEED AND MAINSTREAM PUBLIC
HOUSING ACCESS AND SUSTAINABILITY RESPONSES

• Paul Flatau, Lesley Cooper, Donna Edwards,
  Natalie McGrath Dora Marinova
• Report
• Add Amanda Hart, Mary Morris, Carol Lacroix,
  Marc Adam, Dora Marinova, Andrew Beer, Selina
  Tually, and Cathrine Traee

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Summary

• High levels of unmet housing need among
  Indigenous people
• Homelessness, overcrowding, sub-standard
  accommodation
• Prime motivation for this work How do we better
  meet the housing/non-shelter needs of Indigenous
  people?
• Building a Better Future Indigenous Housing to
  2010
• Important implementation strategy improve
  Indigenous access to mainstream public housing
  (strategy 1.4) improve sustainability of
  public housing tenancies

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Summary

• Evidence from the Administrative Data
• Significant increase in the representation of
  Indigenous people in mainstream public housing
  over last 5 years
• No evidence of longer waiting times (among those
  successful in gaining entry) for Indigenous
  people. Wait-turn entry times very long/priority
  access waiting times much shorter
• Overcrowding higher among Indigenous people
• Shorter tenancies and much higher termination
  notice/vacant possession/eviction rates in the
  Indigenous tenant population tenancy
  sustainability problems.

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Summary

• Policy Review
• Reduction in supply of mainstream public housing
  placing placing pressures on the system given
  low tenant turnover problems
• Priority access strengthening links between
  homelessness organisations and public housing
  important role for national and state
  homelessness strategies
• Tenant support programs being implemented and
  trailed crucial in sustaining tenancies of
  those at imminent risk of homelessness
• Focus on reducing access barriers in terms of
  past history/debts
• Increased representation of Indigenous people in
  decision-making processes (not just in
  Indigenous-specific public housing) Active
  reconciliation programs

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Summary

• Case Study Evidence
• Reveals the role of discrimination/disadvantage
  in affecting housing outcomes including public
  housing
• Access barriers in terms of housing histories and
  debt
• Waiting time problems
• Quality of housing

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Mainstream Public Housing

• Mainstream Public
• CSHA Public Housing

• Mainstream Community
• CSHA Community Housing
• Indigenous Specific Public
• State-Territory Owned and Managed Indigenous
  Housing (SOMIH)
• Indigenous Specific Community
• Various programs funded through CSHA Aboriginal
  Rental Housing Program (ARHP) and Community
  Housing Infrastructure Program (CHIP)

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Methods

• Quantitative analysis of CSHA Public Rental
  Housing data
• Largely NMDS data via AIHW
• An open process of consultation with State and
  Territory departmental and agency providers.
• Case study analysis designed to bring out a broad
  range of issues surrounding access to mainstream
  public housing and sustainability of tenancies
• Use Inala Case Study findings in this paper
  focus on those in a position of unmet housing need

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Background(high Indigenous representation in
public and community housing)
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Background(High homelessness rates in the
Indigenous population)
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Background(Homelessness below community
standards levels)
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Background(Overcrowding levels)
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Administrative Data(Very significant increase in
the representation of Indigenous people in
mainstream public housing)
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Administrative Data(Large rates of growth in
newly assists for Indigenous households)
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Administrative Data(Higher overcrowding rates
for Indigenous people in mainstream public
housing)
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Administrative Data(The importance of mainstream
public housing in the regions/remote areas)
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Administrative Data(For those who gain entry no
evidence of longer waiting times for Indigenous
people)
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Administrative Data(Significantly shorter
tenancies but there are data issues here)
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Administrative Data(WA data higher termination
notice and eviction rates)
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Departmental Views(Access Problems Facing
Indigenous People)

• Availability (waiting lists)
• Appropriateness (mismatch between the family
  size/type and the housing stock)
• Poor Location
• Discrimination
• Poor communication, insufficient knowledge and
  inappropriate processes
• Difficulties contacting Indigenous clients in
  transient living situations
• Adverse tenancy history (including debts,
  abandonment, eviction, excessive repairs, noise
  and nuisance complaints)

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Departmental Views(Sustainability Problems
Facing Indigenous People)

• Living skills, drug and alcohol abuse,
  domestic/family violence
• Indigenous illness, death and trauma
• Financial problems leading to rent arrears
• Inappropriate design and allocation overcrowding
• Neighborhood relationship issues and family
  feuding
• Extended absences, mobility
• Communication difficulties

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Policy Access(Mixture of positive/normative
points)

• Decline in mainstream public housing stock
  creating pressures in the system
• Tenant turnover issues
• NSW reforms
• Increased role for priority housing access and
  reduced role for wait-turn
• Public housing no longer a system for low income
  households but a system that meets the needs of
  the most vulnerable
• Links between SAAP/homelessness organisations and
  public housing strong strengthening through
  homelessness strategies

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Policy Access(Mixture of positive/normative
points)

• Role of public housing debt and past tenancy
  histories
• Jurisdictions moving away from debt being a hard
  bar to entry but this is still a major access
  barrier for those looking to enter mainstream
  public housing
• Indigenous housing officers and information flows
• Developing community-based channels by which
  Indigenous people can be provided with
  information on housing options
• Size and location of housing stock
• Household structures of Indigenous and
  non-Indigenous tenants in public housing very
  different and housing stock geared more to
  non-Indigenous tenant population

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Policy Tenancy Sustainability (Mixture of
positive/normative points)

• Development of supported tenancy programs to
  assist households that may prematurely exit from
  public housing or face eviction
• E.g., Queenslands Same House Different Landlord
  program which was introduced in 2000.
• Under the program, tenants at risk of eviction
  may have their tenancy transferred to a community
  housing provider that provides a supported
  tenancy management program for tenants for a
  period of time.
• E.g., Supported Housing Assistance Program (SHAP)
  in WA
• Aims to provide tenants with appropriate skills
  to fulfil their obligations and responsibilities
  as tenants. Support includes regular property
  visits, financial counselling, family and child
  support, home skills and help in dealing with
  drug and alcohol abuse problems.
• Important and necessary role played by
  non-government agencies such as Centrecare,
  Anglicare, Mission Australia, Ruah etc. many of
  the same agencies also provide support to the
  homeless in the SAAP sector

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Departmental Views(The Way Ahead Examples)

• VIC Explore feasibility of extending the
  Indigenous Tenants at Risk of Eviction pilot
  project
• NSW Design and implement specific policies and
  strategies to address any perceptions of racially
  discriminatory practices occurring within
  mainstream service delivery
• QLD Work to implement DoH Statement of
  Reconciliation commitments

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Departmental Views(The Way Ahead Examples)

• ACT Developing an action plan to improve housing
  outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait
  Islander people in the ACT, including improving
  access to public and community housing.
• NT Investment in 4,281 new dwellings is required
  to address its immediate Indigenous housing
  needs.
• TAS Service delivery staff receiving Indigenous
  Data Collection training. improved data
  collection in relation to Indigenous people will
  enable Housing Tasmania to better monitor access
  and outcomes.

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Case Studies - Report

• Qualitative
• Inala (Qld)
• Geraldton (WA)
• North-West Adelaide (Port Adelaide-Enfield and
  Salisbury)
• Quantitative
• Katherine (NT)

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Case Study - Inala

• General Characteristics Large residential area
  in the western suburbs of Brisbane. Large number
  of Indigenous people relative to other areas in
  South East Queensland.
• Housing Significant public housing area. Inala
  Housing Office responsible for the provision of
  housing for people recently discharged from local
  prisons.
• Jurisdictional assistance for the case study
  Queensland Housing, Indigenous Unit and
  Queensland Housing Inala office.
• Indigenous assistance for the case study Inala
  Elders and Aboriginal Health Service. Inala
  Elders allowed their premises to be used for
  individual interviews and for focus group
  meetings.
• Interviews
• Individuals A total of 20 Indigenous people were
  interviewed. Twelve people were interviewed
  alone and another eight were interviewed as part
  of a focus group.
• Service providers Apart from non-responses all
  those where contact was made agreed to
  participate in the research. A total of 9
  representatives of local organisations were
  interviewed.

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Themes from the Case Study

• Public Housing Availability
• Long waiting times to access public housing among
  those interviewed especially for houses in the
  local area
• Significant problems also evident in terms of
  accessing crisis/transitional housing and hostel
  accommodation
• Transition difficulties from homelessness into
  public housing
• Problems experienced by Indigenous tenants with
  housing officers
• Poor quality of the standard of public housing
  provided
• Ex-prisoner re-entry problems

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Themes from the Case Study

• Positive signs in terms community capacity
  building.
• The failures used to be that governments would
  just dictate, but now they are collaborating more
  with local and non-government organisations as
  well, and that is starting to work. The big
  success up here is community renewal.
• Severe impact of past debt/records had on the
  lives of people seeking accommodation both in the
  private sector and in public housing
• Being marked by poor public housing tenancy
  history records and bad debt problems created a
  sense of hopelessness among affected respondents
  in terms of re-entering public housing
• Particular problems experienced by women
  experiencing domestic/family violence where past
  tenancy history problems

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Conclusion

• This study shows that gains have been made in
  improving access outcomes in mainstream public
  housing for Indigenous people in housing need.
• The high levels of continuing unmet housing need
  in the Indigenous population indicate, however,
  that more needs to be done to improve housing
  outcomes in this area.
• We also need to continue to develop programs
  designed to ensure that vulnerable households in
  public housing at risk of losing their tenancy
  are supported through difficult times so that a
  cycle of eviction/vacant possession and churning
  through crisis and emergency housing and other
  tenuous accommodation options can be avoided.

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Conclusion

• Australian governments have made a landmark
  commitment to improving housing outcomes for
  Indigenous people in the Building a Better
  Future Indigenous Housing to 2010 (BBF)
  agreement.
• It is through the implementation strategies in
  BBF that a co-ordinated response to Indigenous
  housing outcomes can be maintained and enhanced
  and it is in terms of the success in achieving
  better housing-related outcomes for Indigenous
  Australians that Australian governments can be
  judged over the remaining five years of the
  agreement.