Former student accommodation to be refurbished for urgent housing

A refurbishment of former and vacant student accommodation at Griffith University will convert the facility into crisis accommodation.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said this new project was a step toward addressing housing challenges.

“Nothing is more important than having a roof over your head - it’s a basic need – and the stories of people without secure housing are heartbreaking,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“Griffith University approached My Government and identified 200 beds of unused student accommodation at its Mount Gravatt campus that it could offer up for emergency accommodation.

“This will increase crisis accommodation available for people in need and help solve one of the multiple housing issues.”

Deputy Premier Steven Miles said the announcement came out of the Government’s Housing Roundtable.

“This came about from a group of people working together to address a critical issue facing our state and the nation.

“I’ve said from the start – we don’t fix these issues by working alone.

“We must have coordinated approaches for investment, for infrastructure to support growth and for making better use of existing land.

“To do this, we need more solutions using this same approach, where governments at state and federal levels, local government, industry and the private sector collaborate to achieve the best outcome for Queenslanders.”

“Today’s roundtable is an example of exactly that and I look forward to hearing from our partners.”

Minister for Communities and Housing Leeanne Enoch said with the impacts of COVID-19, the rising costs of living and mass migration into Queensland, more and more people have turned to government for support.

“We know that ending homelessness requires more than just housing – it is a shared objective across the community and government at all levels,” Ms Enoch said. 

“This is a great example of the benefits of collaboration and working in partnership to deliver even better services for vulnerable Queenslanders.”

Mr Miles said the Government would now work quickly to organise a social and emergency housing provider to service the facility. 

“I want to thank Griffith University for this proposal – this initiative is an example of providing accommodation solutions now for those who need it most,” he said.

“I encourage other organisations to consider options like this.”

ENDS

Media contact:       

Chris Taylor (Premier’s office) – 0473 336 110

Amy Hunter (Deputy Premier’s office) - 0423 651 484

Bill Walker (Minister Enoch’s office) - 0437 859 987