Media Release: WA budget delivers on social housing but misses the mark on the homelessness emergency

Shelter WA has commended the Cook Government for delivering welcome boosts to social housing and homelessness services, but says the scale of the crisis required a much bolder commitment for homelessness and emergency relief. 

Social housing 

“The $4.7 billion headline figure for housing supply includes $1.5 billion for social and affordable housing. This investment is welcome and will deliver over 1500 social and affordable homes and fund repairs and maintenance to bring vacant social homes in disrepair back into the system.

“We welcome the Cook Government’s continued investments to deliver more social and affordable homes in this budget, but we need to be adding 5,000 social and affordable homes each year to meet soaring demand, and significantly increasing crisis accommodation and Safe Night Spaces for people who are doing it the toughest. 

“We know this housing will take time to come online and for that reason we are especially disappointed to see no funding to preserve the last NRAS homes from leaving the system, which would hold 1500 renting families in place who are now at risk of homelessness.” 

Homelessness 

The state’s peak body for community housing and homelessness services also welcomes the $91 million package for homelessness, including a $28 million funding boost for homelessness services, and $20.3 million for accommodation and support services at Perth Inner City Youth Service (PICYS) and Indigo Junction. 

“We are thrilled with new funding for our incredible homelessness sector. 

“But to put things in perspective, the $52 billion state budget today devoted less than 0.2 per cent to new homelessness initiatives. ¹ 

Ms Snell said this is not enough to meet the scale of the homelessness crisis head on, including investment in accommodation, services, and safe places for unaccompanied children and young people which was a focus of Shelter WA’s advocacy this year. 

“We had been hoping to see a commitment to ending child and youth homelessness this budget, but this falls well short. 

“For the 830 young people presenting alone to specialist homelessness services across WA each day and at least 70 young people sleeping rough across Perth right now, this budget is a missed opportunity to address what they are living through every night,” Ms Snell said.

“We know bold reform is possible and it’s been proven by this government, so there is no excuse to leave the young people on our streets with nowhere to go.”

Summary of social housing and homelessness initiatives in WA State Budget:

• Homelessness services
  • $27.8 million uplift for homelessness accommodation services 
  • $8.2 million to expand Entrypoint operating hours and early intervention services 
  • $6.2 million to establish Supportive Landlord model in Kalgoorlie 
  • $12.5 million for operational support at the Perth Aboriginal Short Stay 
  • $20.3 million for Youth homelessness –
    • $3.1m expansion of in-reach supported youth accommodation at PICYS 
    • $17.2m to support operations at Indigo Junction Housing First for Youth 
• Social housing 
  • $1 billion to deliver 1426 new social and affordable housing homes through the federally funded HAFF 
  • $218 million for 165 social housing homes (acquisition or new builds), refurbishment of 215 dwellings, and land acquisition for approximately 230 lots 
  • $234 million for maintenance, upgrades and a focus on bringing back ‘voids’ or unoccupied and currently uninhabitable social housing 
  • This commitment translates to 9800 new social homes by 2030, since 2021
• Family and Domestic Violence Crisis accommodation 
  • $10.7 million for continuation of Ruah’s Safe Night Space for women
  • $18.1 million to fund 15 unit-refuge in Perth’s northern suburbs and $1.3 million in Geraldton to purchase land for a purpose built refuge  
  • $45 million boost to existing refuges and services and the commencement of five new services under development in Albany, Bunbury, Narrogin, Newman and Peel
• Renters 
  • $13.5 million to extend the Rent Relief program for twelve months 
  • Minimum rental standard to be introduced and no grounds evictions banned 
• Aboriginal wellbeing 
  • $127 million top-up to the Remote Communities Fund for investment in housing, utilities and services across remote Aboriginal communities 

Shelter WA said it would continue to call for: 

• More accommodation options for immediate relief from homelessness such as more Safe Night Spaces, crisis accommodation, rapid conversions of vacant properties
• 5,000 additional social and affordable homes each year
• A homelessness prevention and early intervention fund 
• End homelessness for children and young people
• Community housing sector growth package (incl resources to develop a growth plan)
• Boost tenancy support services to keep people in their homes and prevent homelessness 
• Expand social housing upgrades for cost of living relief
• Deliver permanent supportive housing across the state
• Funding to boost the homelessness sector workforce
• Expand and improve the Advance to Zero (AtoZ) Framework
• Close the housing gap for First Nations people

 

¹$91 million homelessness package from $52 billion expenditure translates to 0.176%