THE NSW government is enhancing the transparency of the state’s social housing waiting list by providing up to date data, rather than publishing on an annual basis.
Previously the number of people on the social housing waiting list was only provided to the public once a year, typically meaning data was out of date by the time it was published.
Data on both the general and priority waiting list will be published on a monthly basis to give stakeholders, the sector and people waiting for social housing a clearer picture of the state’s housing needs.
“Providing accurate and timely data about the number of people on the social housing waiting list and the median waiting times for particular locations is critical to understanding current and future demands,” said Rose Jackson, minister for housing.
“This is part of our commitment to transparency and being open with the community about the problems with the current social housing system.”
As well as publishing the volume of people waiting for housing, the government will also provide median waiting times for priority and general applicant households on a quarterly basis.
“This is the harsh reality of our housing crisis. Everyday thousands of vulnerable people wait for the day they have a secure roof over their head. The only way we’re going to get them off the housing waitlist is by getting people into homes,” added Jackson.
“Delivering more housing is crucial we’ve introduced as suite of planning reforms and commitments to deliver more social and affordable housing as a start, but there is so much more to do.
This initiative is part of a suite of NSW Government reforms to improve the social and affordable housing sector and address homelessness and housing insecurity.
“Everyone deserves access to safe and secure shelter. We need to highlight the depth of housing crisis we’re in to keep the pressure on for the need to deliver more homes,” concluded Jackson.
