Level of Assistance
The gradual decline in the average subsidy is due to a policy of phased rent increases – with the final 1% having been implemented in 2004-05.
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Targeting of Assistance
The proportion of tenants who are newly housed in public housing each year that have special needs has risen to just over 55% in the past year. In community housing the proportion is over 70%.
Tenants with special needs are the young, the elderly, Aboriginal people and people with a disability.
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Vacancy Management
The number of turnaround days (26) to re-let public housing stock continues to improve, dropping by six days over the past five years. This is the second lowest in Australia. Turnaround days in community housing is lower at 18 days.
Vacancy rates of housing stock are consistently low, currently sitting at 1.3% in public housing and 1.8% in community housing.
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Client Debt
Reduction of rental arrears represents continued improvement in monitoring and management practices.
The introduction of new tenancy arrangements assisted in the improvements.
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Administrative Costs
For public housing, the average cost of providing assistance (excluding capital) per dwelling fell in the past year, after increasing over each of the previous four years.
The decrease in the past year is a result of reduced spending on recurrent maintenance and decreased insurance costs, which were nearly halved in 2004-05.
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Maintenance Costs
The Department continues to direct significant resources to improving maintenance services.
The Department is implementing a new and innovative approach to maintenance as part of removing the existing maintenance backlog through borrowings, known as the Maintenance Reform Program.
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