Social Housing providers across the state have called on the Federal Government to step-in on ‘chronic underinvestment’ in social and affordable housing through this year’s budget as the housing crisis continues to spread through regional cities and towns. 

The national campaign to end homelessness ‘Everybody’s Home’ has called for an investment of at least 25,000 new social housing dwellings in the budget, releasing a Budget Position Paper that shows the aggravating public costs that are becoming a side effect of underinvestment.

Regional Manager of Western NSW social housing provider Compass Housing, Emma O’Hara, said that with increased rental prices across the board, an entirely new wave of people are needing to access affordable housing. 

“A lot of the impact for Western NSW has been particularly in the last 12 to 18 months with chronic rental stress that people are under with the price increases in the private rental market, which has pushed a lot more people onto our waiting list than we traditionally have seen,” Ms O’Hara said. 

Despite having steady incomes, the rising costs have also pushed a lot of people out of the renting market and unable to secure a home, but their income makes them ineligible for social housing. That’s where affordable housing comes in, though it’s few and far between.

Compass Housing Regional Manager Emma O'Hara said that the demand for social and affordable housing is growing, but the rate of people returning to access the private sector is much lower.

“Eligibility guidelines really target people on a low income, so people on a disability support pension, age pension or job seeker…our median income earners are sitting in that grey area. That’s why we’re asking for both social and affordable housing because we really have to close that gap,” Ms O’Hara said. 

With projections for the strain on the rental market to continue into 2022, the increased demands for social and affordable housing looms well into the future, threatening a dire cycle if not addressed. 

“It’s very confronting. A lot of programs in community and social housing rely on having leased properties as well, so it’s not just individuals who are trying to access the rental market,” Ms O’Hara said. 

Serving Narromine, Bourke, Brewarrina, Lightning Ridge and Walgett, Ms O’Hara said that Compass Housing is constantly looking for new properties. 

“From a community housing perspective, we are never without people on our waiting list,” she said. 

While the housing providers vary from town to town across the Western Plains, according to the Department of Communities and Justice there is a minimum of two years on the waiting list to secure a house anywhere across the region (as at 30 June, 2021). 

In some towns and for certain dwellings (dependent on family size), the expected wait time is up to 10 years. 

According to the Budget Position Paper, federal funding for social and Indigenous housing is budgeted at $1.6 billion in 2023-24, a significant drop from the $2 billion investment made in 2013-2014. 

The report suggested that the construction of 25,000 social homes per year would generate an annual economic output of $12.9 billion, and create 15,700 jobs. 

Currently, the added pressure on the limited social housing system is having the opposite effect on the economy, leading to adding costs addressing homelessness, mental health, domestic violence, alcohol/substance abuse, and reduced household spending.