Palaszczuk Government’s housing approach is helping vulnerable Queenslanders

Annual housing data shows the state’s social housing register is showing signs it is stabilising, and that the Palaszczuk Government’s social housing construction program and wide range of housing products and services are supporting Queenslanders most in need.

Minister for Communities and Housing Leeanne Enoch said the latest social housing register data, which will be available online later today, showed there were almost 500 fewer households on the register than last year.

“The data also shows that single people, including those aged over 55 years, now make up the majority of households on the social housing register in Queensland,” Ms Enoch said.

“In fact, the most common cohort of households on the social housing register is single people.

“This shows that our focus on building one- and two-bedroom social housing homes in the 2021-2022 financial year, our first year of the Queensland Housing and Homelessness Action Plan 2021-2025, is responding to the needs of people on the register who are most in need, with almost 90% of commencements being one- and two-bedroom dwellings.”

Housing data files, including social housing register data are released annually on the Queensland Government’s Open Data portal for transparency and accountability.

Ms Enoch said the valuable data informs the allocation of social housing, the provision of housing and homelessness services and helps to identify areas for the construction of new social housing.

“The data shows that people in social housing are staying in their homes longer, with allocations to social housing properties down slightly from 30 June 2021,” she said.

“This decrease reflects the challenges in the rental market nationally, but also shows that social housing is meeting the needs of tenants and providing stability.

“According to the latest data, the register has many households which include a person with disability.

“This, along with the number of people aged over 55 years, reinforces our commitment to building social housing that is accessible and built to Liveable Design Standards that allow tenants to age in place.

“This data is important and will be used to support the provision of housing and homeless services and to identify areas for the construction of new social housing in the future.”

Minister Enoch said that while it was heartening to see a reduction in the number of households on the register, there is still work to be done.

“We know that there are Queenslanders who are doing it tough right now. This is why the Palaszczuk Government recently boosted its $16 million Immediate Housing Response Package by $5 million to help more Queenslanders in need,” she said.

“This funding boost, which was an outcome of the recent Housing Roundtable, will support more critical services such as temporary emergency accommodation and specialist homelessness workers for Queenslanders who are living in insecure and unsafe situations.

“We know that more people than ever are calling Queensland home, with almost 94,000 people moving to our state over 12 months – more than any other State or Territory.

“The Palaszczuk Government is taking action to address the challenges in the housing market and the increased number of new Queenslanders, making record investments in social and affordable housing and holding the upcoming Queensland Housing Summit on 20 October 2022.”

In June 2021, the Queensland Housing and Homelessness Action Plan 2021-2025 was launched, to advance the next stage of the Queensland Housing Strategy 2017-2027.

The Action Plan is backed by the Palaszczuk Government’s $2.9 billion investment in social and affordable housing - the largest concentrated investment in Queensland’s history.

Minister Enoch said the stabilisation of the social housing register also showed that the Queensland Government’s wide range of services and supports were helping to resolve people’s housing needs.

“We take a person-centred approach to housing need and provide a suite of products to assist Queenslanders to access stable, affordable and safe housing, whether that is in social housing or in the private rental market,” she said.

“Social housing is not the only form of assistance that can help resolve people’s housing needs, and some people just need a helping hand to secure a stable private rental.

“In 2021-22, we provided almost 200,000 forms of housing assistance to Queensland households or individuals, including emergency housing, social housing, private market assistance and homelessness services.

“Many households on the housing register have already been assisted with other solutions such as bond loans and rental grants.

“This means the person or family may have been assisted to secure a home in the private rental market but remain on the housing register.”

Housing data files, including social housing register data, will be available on the Queensland Government’s Open Data portal at www.data.qld.gov.au today (Friday 23 September).

ENDS

Media contact: Pema Bastin 0422 655 582