More houses needed: Anglicare releases snapshot of Housing Connect Front Door service
October 30, 2024
Anglicare Tasmania is calling on the Tasmanian Government to urgently increase its investment in long-term social housing so that more individuals and families can be assisted into safe and affordable housing sooner.
It today released a snapshot of the first three months of statewide operation of the Housing Connect Front Door service, delivered by Anglicare.
Since July 1, the Housing Connect Front Door responded to more than 12,600 enquiries from Tasmanians seeking housing support, assisted with 1533 new social housing applications, and arranged emergency accommodation for 121 people or families. One in eight people cited escaping domestic and family violence as the main reason for seeking assistance. The Front Door organised 420 nights of short-term or emergency accommodation, and 224 nights of medium term or transitional accommodation.
“This service was able to achieve significant positive change for some clients experiencing extreme housing insecurity, however, the primary need for long-term, secure and affordable housing for most clients remained unmet,” said the coordinator of Anglicare’s Social Action and Research Centre, economist Mary Bennett.
“Every day, our team members see and hear of the harmful effects that the housing shortage is having on individuals and families,” she said. “We are calling on the Government to establish clear targets for reducing the social housing register, as well as the average waiting time for social housing applicants.
“There also needs to be a process developed that provides applicants with realistic estimates of waiting times and the progress of their application. This would go a long way towards reducing the stress and anxiety that people feel.”
The More Houses Needed report has charts of key indicators of the State’s housing system showing trends over time. Unfortunately, the shortfall in social housing supply is growing, and the unmet demand per capita is highest in North West Tasmania. The average wait time for priority applicants also increased by 10% over the 12 months to August 2024.
The report recommends increasing investment in long-term social housing. It also makes recommendations about ways to refine reporting and measurement of progress against the Tasmanian Housing Strategy.
“If the number of people needing social housing continues to grow at the current rate, Tasmania will need 20,200 social homes by 2027 and 22,900 by 2032, and the number of people on the Housing Register will have risen to at least 7,000,” said Ms Bennett.
Background:
The Housing Connect Front Door is the entry point for housing assistance. It is where people can get information about housing options and other supports. Anglicare delivers this service from our offices in Hobart, Launceston, Devonport and Burnie.
The Housing Connect Front Door does not make decisions about how social housing is allocated to people waiting for a home.
Homes Tasmania manages the Housing Register in Tasmania.
