QUEENSLAND’S social housing register has been published on the state government’s open data website as part of new quarterly reporting arrangements, and shows applications fell 7.6% over the financial year to 25,364.
More than 5,000 households were assisted into social housing over the 12 months.
Queensland will now start reporting the figures every three months, as opposed to the previous updates for each financial year.
“If we want government, housing providers, the construction industry and community to better understand the demands and trends of our social housing register – then we need to be open and more frequent in our reporting,” said Housing Minister Meaghan Scanlon.
“Right around Australia, national housing pressures are having an impact – and Queensland has not been immune.”
The state government is investing $5 billion with the aim of delivering 13,500 social and affordable homes by 2027. Last week, the government announced a partnership with community housing provider Coast2Bay to buy up to 121 homes on the Sunshine Coast, Moreton Bay and Gympie that will be converted to social housing.
“By reporting more frequently – alongside other measures we’ve committed to in response to the Queensland Audit Office’s recommendations – it means we can better deliver social and affordable housing where they’re needed, as well as other products like rental grants, subsidies and specialist homelessness services.”
At last week’s National Cabinet meeting held in Brisbane, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his all-Labor mainland Premier counterparts did not heed the Greens’ calls for a national rental freeze or rental caps – a key plank of the minor party’s negotiations for allowing the government’s $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) to pass the Senate – instead opting to introduce a once-per-year limit to rent increases, with no caps.
The federal government made a last-ditch bid in June to get the Greens onside ahead of the winter parliamentary recess, pledging $2 billion that would go directly to all states and territories within weeks to deliver new social and community housing, and guaranteeing a floor for annual spending by the HAFF.
