A robust and diverse community housing system
The Department of Housing provides low-income housing and crisis accommodation through the community housing sector. This objective looks at the how we go about ensuring the long-term viability of the community housing sector whilst recognising the unique service delivery opportunities it provides.
The core activities are provided by the Office of Community Housing and include the delivery and management of properties as well as regulating and strengthening the community housing sector.
Providing social housing
Community housing
Community housing comprises just under 10 per cent of social housing in NSW, and is provided through 388 not-for-profit organisations. As at 30 June 2006,not-for-profit community organisations such as housing associations, housing cooperatives, charities, churches and other community groups were managing 14,331 dwellings.
The Government oversees and partially funds the community housing sector through the Office of Community Housing, a Department of Housing business unit
(see Figure 2.1).
This section reports on the delivery and management of properties and provider relationships. Other objectives include reporting on specific initiatives for different client groups.
Please see Objective 1 – Figure 1.2 for total number of properties managed by provider.
- Please see Objective 1 – Figure 1.3 for the estimated number of people assisted.
Community housing capital supply
The Department continues to increase the supply of community housing in high need areas as well as crisis and transitional accommodation through a range of programs as detailed further in this objective.
In 2005–06, 268 new units were commenced through redevelopment, acquisition or construction at a total budget of $80.37 million, including:
- Community Housing Assistance Program
– 248 additional units of accommodation
- Crisis Accommodation Program
– 20 units of accommodation
- completion of works-in-progress.
An additional 35 units of accommodation were acquired for the Port Jackson Supported Housing Program and a further 93 units of accommodation were acquired for management by community housing organisations for the Housing and Accommodation Support Initiative (HASI) Stage III. These figures are inclusive in the above program.
Please see Objective 1 – Tables 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3 for total capital supply.
Community Housing Leasing Program
The Community Housing Leasing Program (CHLP) is the largest recurrent funding program managed by the Office of Community Housing. In 2005–06, 42 housing associations received funding to manage 5,293 capital properties and 5,130 leasehold properties to provide long-term housing assistance for low income earners in housing need.
Of these, 1,174 tenancies or 11.3 per cent were funded to provide supported housing for clients with complex needs, and 4.3 per cent or 444 dwellings were targeted for intensive tenancy management where extra resources were provided to housing associations.
In 2005–06 CHLP provided funding of $42.81 million, of which $36.45 million was for community housing providers to subsidise the leasing of 5,130 properties in the private rental market and $6.36 million as a contribution towards their management costs.
In addition, $2.756 million was provided under the CHLP for community housing providers to subsidise 323 long-term leased properties and $0.426 million as a contribution towards their management costs.
Community Housing Assistance Program
The Office of Community Housing manages the Community Housing Assistance Program (CHAP), which provides long-term general and supported housing for clients on low incomes, managed by community housing providers.
In 2005–06, 324 units of accommodation were allocated to 18 organisations, compared to 160 units allocated in 2004–05. The increase was largely due to the acquisition of several large multi-unit buildings and the allocation of 126 units funded under CHAP for the Housing and Accommodation Support Initiative (HASI).
Of these 324 units:
- 66 will house young people, families, people with disabilities and others who need support to maintain a tenancy with support services provided by a non-government service provider;
- 84 units will provide supported housing for people with mental health problems;
- 18 units will house Aboriginal people and families; and
- the remaining 156 units will be used to house low-income individuals and families.
The cost of the capital properties is estimated to be $67.1 million. The cost of the new leases program is an estimated $141,000 per annum in recurrent funding.
Please see Objective 4 for more information on HASI.
Port Jackson Supported Housing program
Management of the Port Jackson Supported Housing program was transferred to the Office of Community Housing in November 2005. The program aims to help people with supported housing needs that are not met adequately through existing housing options.
Most of these people would be on the streets or forced to relocate to a series of refuges, hostels or boarding homes away from their support networks if they were not offered accommodation through the Port Jackson Supported Housing program.
In June 2005, the Department established the Port Jackson Supported Housing program through an existing community housing provider. In April 2006, St George
Community Housing was appointed after an Expression of Interest process to manage the properties and leaseholds in the program for three years.
A combination of 21 government and non-government support service organisations provide ongoing support to the tenants housed under the program.
Allocation of tenancies is limited to partner organisations, though new partners are invited to apply on an annual basis. These services offer support for a range of people, including: older people with complex needs; people living with HIV/AIDS; people living with mental illness; young people less than 25 years old; people with a disability; and people vulnerable to homelessness.
This program has benefited from the input, advice and assistance of an advisory group representing the Council of Social Service of New South Wales (NCOSS), Shelter NSW, the NSW Federation of Housing Associations, the Mental Health Coordinating Council and people with a disability. The Aboriginal Housing Office is also a member of the advisory group.
When fully established, the program will provide 211 units of accommodation in the inner city Local Government Areas of Randwick, City of Sydney, Ashfield, Marrickville, Leichhardt, Botany and Waverley.
As of June 2006, 96 units of capital accommodation have been acquired for the program. This includes five units under the Housing and Accommodation Support Initiative (HASI) program for people with high needs exiting mental health facilities.
Identifying appropriate properties for the Port Jackson Supported Housing program are continuing and it is anticipated that it will be finalised in 2006–07.
Crisis Accommodation Program
The Office of Community Housing administers the Crisis Accommodation Program (CAP) to provide for people who are homeless, at risk of homelessness or in crisis.
Dwellings may be purchased, leased, renovated, or upgraded and are managed by non-government organisations. They provide transitional accommodation to help clients to move to independent living.
CAP’s objectives are to:
- increase crisis and transitional accommodation for Indigenous people
- expand early intervention services for people in immediate crisis
- create opportunities for clients to move from crisis or highly supported housing into independent housing.
In 2005–06, the Department approved 23 additional units of accommodation at an estimated cost of $5.9 million that were allocated to priority client groups. In addition, funding of $5.77 million was provided to help meet the costs of providing CAP services, as follows:
- $2.14 million for repairs and maintenance;
- $1.71 million to help meet the cost of leasing accommodation and payments to staff; and
- $1.92 million to meet residential and tenancy expenses such as insurance, water and council rates.
At 30 June 2006, there were a total of 1,209 capital and 230 leased CAP properties managed by non-government organisations. The number of people assisted during the year through these properties is estimated at 40,000.
Stock Transfer Program
The transfer of public housing stock to community housing management represents a long-term investment in social housing. At the end of June 2006, around 500 properties had been transferred to community housing management.
The program will continue throughout 2006–07.
Strengthening the community housing sector
The Legislative Council’s Inquiry Report 2003 into Community Housing recommended that the Housing Act 2001 be amended to recognise the contribution community housing plays in providing housing options to people in need, and to support the sector’s further development.
In 2005–06, the Office of Community Housing consulted extensively across the sector. In total, 100 stakeholders participated in 11 workshops, alongside representatives from the private sector with an interest in the development of community housing.
The consultation identified strong support for the legislation’s amendment and highlighted that stakeholders felt that the sector could play an important role in developing affordable housing services across NSW.
The consultations recommended that the amendment should reflect:
- Recognition of the role community housing plays in the development of balanced housing markets in the state
- Commitment to support community housing as viable and diversified form of housing choice for people with a housing need
- A description of the registration framework
- The enforcement tools available to support the registration framework.
Community housing strategy
The Legislative Council’s Inquiry Report 2003 into Community Housing recommended the development of a five-year strategic policy framework for community housing in NSW.
The Office of Community Housing worked closely with the Community Housing Advisory Committee (CHAC) in 2005–06 to draft a strategy that would guide the growth and development of the community housing sector over the next five to ten years.
The draft strategy is currently in development and has the key aims of ensuring that community housing is a professional, accountable, responsive and sustainable sector with an enhanced capacity to provide housing to people in housing stress throughout NSW.
The Office of Community Housing will continue to work with CHAC and other representatives of the community housing sector to finalise a draft strategy for broad consultation early in 2006–07.
Performance-based registration system
The performance-based registration system (PBRS) recognises good outcomes and is designed to create a culture of performance among community housing providers, not merely one of compliance. Participation in the PBRS is compulsory for all community housing providers who wish to do business with the Department.
In 2005–06, the Office of Community Housing continued to register community housing organisations and further developed the system in consultation with the sector.
The Performance Management and Registration Unit completed 30 initial registration assessments of community housing organisations during 2005–06. In addition, 19 registration re-assessments of community housing providers initially registered in 2004–05 were completed.
Since the PBRS was implemented in March 2005, a total of 54 community housing organisations managing 85 per cent of the Office of Community Housing’s property portfolio have been registered. It is anticipated that in 2006–07, the performance of 90 organisations will be assessed.
Community housing accreditation
The NSW community housing accreditation system evaluates community housing organisations against National Community Housing (NCH) Standards.
The system promotes a culture of continuous improvement within the community housing sector and helps organisations deliver housing services that are flexible and responsive to client’s needs and operate as sustainable, efficient, effective and viable organisations.
In addition, participation in accreditation prepares the organisations for registration under the Department’s performance based registration system. Since the system commenced in 1999, a total of 34 organisations have been accredited.
During 2005–06, the Standards and Accreditation Unit of the Office of Community Housing:
- completed seven evaluations for two organisations seeking first-time accreditation and five organisations seeking re-accreditation
- awarded seven organisations full (three year) accreditation
- conducted five workshops on the NCH Standards providing information to interested community housing organisations
- developed four new accreditation services to enable small community housing providers including housing cooperatives and church-based providers to improve access to the system and achieve accreditation
- completed preparation for an internal audit as part of the ISO 9001/2000 certification process
- conducted workshops on the NSW Accreditation System for representatives from the Victoria Department of Human Services, South Australia Community Housing Authority and the ACT Community Housing peak organisation.
The Department is pleased to note that these states have indicated an interest in implementing a similar accreditation system to promote continuous improvement and best practices in their community housing sectors.
Community Housing Insurance Scheme
The Office of Community Housing manages the Community Housing Insurance Scheme (CHIS) that has been operating since 1998. The Scheme provides the Department with an assured level of insurance of its community housing assets and a competitive level of premiums to the community housing sector to access a comprehensive package of insurance cover designed to meet community housing needs.
Premiums for all the insurances under the Scheme remained the same in 2005–06 as in 2004–05 except for householders (property) insurance, which increased marginally from $255 to $275 per property. The comparative stability in premiums reflects claim history and the ongoing low level of public liability claims, and therefore insurance premiums.
A major advantage of the Scheme lies in the central monitoring of all insurance claims, which facilitates management responses to address issues as they arise.
The Office of Community Housing, together with the insurance brokers will work with the community housing sector on measures that can be taken to reduce the risk of fires during 2006–07.
Some key achievements for the PBRS in 2005–06 included:
- Consultation with the Department of Community Services as a component of the final stage of system implementation commenced, to establish methods of engagement with housing support providers in the PBRS and to streamline reporting to government for these organisations.
- The NSW Federation of Housing Associations (FHA) and the Association to Resource Cooperative Housing (ARCH) received funding of $44,362 to prepare and support organisations for performance-based registration.
- A new improved web-based information technology system was introduced in October 2005 that captures a broader range of data and information on the conduct of housing services. The reporting data forms the basis for registration assessments and ongoing performance monitoring.
- Office of Community Housing staff provided on-site training on the new system to 55 organisations. Subsequently, the ARCH has been providing the training to all housing cooperatives prior to developing the 2005–06 performance reports.
Overall results from the first stage of registrations indicate a high level of good performance in client service and tenancy management, sound governance being exercised by a large proportion of community housing organisations.
The registration system has been able to introduce clearer processes for assisting and supporting those organisations that require intensive intervention at an early stage to address issues impacting on their future sustainability.
The major focus of PBRS in 2006–07 will be on forging stronger partnerships with housing providers, resourcing agencies and other government departments (including the Aboriginal Housing Office) to ensure a reliable and flexible performance reporting system that supports diversity of community housing in meeting local community housing needs in NSW.
Community housing accreditation
The NSW community housing accreditation system evaluates community housing organisations against National Community Housing (NCH) Standards.
The system promotes a culture of continuous improvement within the community housing sector and helps organisations deliver housing services that are flexible and responsive to client’s needs and operate as sustainable, efficient, effective and viable organisations.
In addition, participation in accreditation prepares the organisations for registration under the Department’s performance based registration system. Since the system commenced in 1999, a total of 34 organisations have been accredited.
During 2005–06, the Standards and Accreditation Unit of the Office of Community Housing:
- completed seven evaluations for two organisations seeking first-time accreditation and five organisations seeking re-accreditation
- awarded seven organisations full (three year) accreditation
- conducted five workshops on the NCH Standards providing information to interested community housing organisations
- developed four new accreditation services to enable small community housing providers including housing cooperatives and church-based providers to improve access to the system and achieve accreditation
- completed preparation for an internal audit as part of the ISO 9001/2000 certification process
- conducted workshops on the NSW Accreditation System for representatives from the Victoria Department of Human Services, South Australia Community Housing Authority and the ACT Community Housing peak organisation.
The Department is pleased to note that these states have indicated an interest in implementing a similar accreditation system to promote continuous improvement and best practices in their community housing sectors.
Community Housing Insurance Scheme
The Office of Community Housing manages the Community Housing Insurance Scheme (CHIS) that has been operating since 1998. The Scheme provides the Department with an assured level of insurance of its community housing assets and a competitive level of premiums to the community housing sector to access a comprehensive package of insurance cover designed to meet community housing needs.
Premiums for all the insurances under the Scheme remained the same in 2005–06 as in 2004–05 except for householders (property) insurance, which increased marginally from $255 to $275 per property. The comparative stability in premiums reflects claim history and the ongoing low level of public liability claims, and therefore insurance premiums.
A major advantage of the Scheme lies in the central monitoring of all insurance claims, which facilitates management responses to address issues as they arise.
The Office of Community Housing, together with the insurance brokers will work with the community housing sector on measures that can be taken to reduce the risk of fires during 2006–07.
Community Housing Resourcing Grants Program
The funding provided under the Community Housing Resourcing Grants program aims to strengthen the viability, management and operation of the community housing sector, and ensures the efficient and effective use of housing resources to best meet the needs of community housing tenants and applicants.
Major funding allocations from the $2.188 million budget were made to the following agencies and programs:
- the three community housing resourcing agencies (NSW FHA, ARCH and Churches Community Housing (CCH)
- review of the resourcing agencies
- the Department’s NSW Standards and Accreditation Unit
- performance improvement of underperforming community housing providers
- community housing data collection
- the Community Housing Scholarships Program
- review of the Community Housing Leasing Program.
To provide context and strategic direction for the program, work on a capacity-building strategic framework for the community housing sector has commenced.
Community Housing Scholarships Program
The Community Housing Scholarships Program offers scholarships of up to 80 per cent of course costs for a range of tertiary and post-secondary education and training courses to provide opportunities for people working in community housing to access appropriate training and education.
In 2005–06, the Program awarded seven new scholarships, totalling $17,000, to:
- The NSW Federation of Housing Associations’ Certificate IV in Social Housing (six scholarships)
- The Graduate Certificate in Housing Management and Social Policy at Swinburne University of Technology.
This program is an important initiative in capacity-building for the community housing sector through improving the education and training of its workers.
Asset management
Fire Safety Program – community housing capital properties
As foreshadowed in the Annual Report 2004–05, approximately 1,200 community housing properties were inspected this year in line with the Departmental Fire Risk Management Plan. As per the Plan, properties classified as Class 5 and 6 under the Building Code of Australia were inspected and maintenance undertaken to comply with fire safety standards.
Fire Safety Program work will continue in 2006–07 and involve the inspection of other property categories, such as those classified as 1b and 3 under the Building Code of Australia.
Planned Maintenance Program
The Office of Community Housing’s Planned Maintenance Program (PMP) continues the move towards sustainable maintenance by reducing deferred liabilities and strengthening planned maintenance. The Planned Maintenance Program focuses on bringing properties that currently do not meet the Department of Housing’s asset standards up to the maintained level.
The PMP continues to be implemented across properties in the Crisis Accommodation Program.
In 2005–06, the Planned Maintenance Program was completed on a total of 75 properties with an expenditure of approximately $1.0 million.
In 2006–07, the emphasis will be to complete PMP for all community housing properties identified through the Property Assessment Survey (PAS) and any priority cases identified through PAS will become part of the 2006–07 CAP Planned Maintenance Program.
As a result of the PMP, there has been a significant impact on the CAP Repairs and Maintenance budget in that responsive maintenance has reduced when compared to previous years and the number of calls to the Housing Contact Centre has lowered considerably.