Liberal Member for Penrith Stuart Ayres has welcomed the decision of the Minister for Family and Community Services to publish waiting lists for social housing by region, improving the transparency of government and improving service delivery to social housing applicants.
\”Under the Keneally Labor Government I lodged several questions about public housing in NSW but I was fobbed off when it came to the question of waiting lists[1].\” Mr Ayres said.
\”Today’s decision makes the information I sought under the previous government available to all to see.
\”The public has every right to expect their government be as open and frank with them as possible, the facts won’t always be pretty but it is important we provide them to better inform public debate.
\”This information will be of immense benefit from an openness and transparency perspective, and it will also provide valuable information for housing applicants in selecting which regions they want to apply for.\”
NSW Family and Community Services Minister Pru Goward said the information will include tables showing the 218 regional and 25 Sydney metro allocation zones and expected wait times by bedroom category.
“Expected wait times will be shown as colour coded bands of less than 2 years, 2 to 5 years, 5 to 10 years, and more than 10 years. These will be based on the length of time current applicants have been waiting.
“The published information will include the number of social housing properties, the number of people on the social housing waiting list, including properties managed or owned by Housing NSW, the Aboriginal Housing Office and community housing providers.
\”Government assistance works best as a hand up, not a handout if we are truly committed to the welfare of the most vulnerable members of our society.
\”The time that an applicant waits for social housing depends on a number of factors:
- the number of suitable vacancies that occur and how many social housing properties are in the allocation zone;
- the number of approved applicants for the same type of property in their allocation zone;
- whether applicants will accept offers of both public and community housing; and
- the number of people approved for priority housing who are placed on the list above people who do not have a priority need.”
Ms Goward said on coming to Government action was taken to transfer the responsibility for the bricks and mortar of housing assets to the Department of Finance and Services.
“This has allowed Housing NSW to fully concentrate on addressing the housing demands of those in need,” Ms Goward said.
Further information for current or prospective applicants can be obtained by contacting their local Housing NSW office or Housing Pathways community housing provider, or by visiting the Housing Pathways website, www.housingpathways.nsw.gov.au.
Media Contact: Stuart Ayres 0412 117 265 or Ross Grove 0412 897 130
[1] NSW Legislative Assembly, Questions and Answers Paper, 22 December 2010, QoN 12356
_______________________________________ Ross Grove Office of Stuart Ayres MP Office Phone: 02 4722 8660 Office Fax: 02 4731 4782 Mobile: 0412 897 130 [email protected]
