UP to $50 million in grants will be made available for registered community housing providers in Western Australia, under the Cook government’s call for submissions (CFS) process aimed at boosting regional social and community housing supply.
The CFS process is open to community housing providers registered under the WA Community Housing Regulatory Framework, and the funding is being made available for projects that meet requirements in the South West, Great Southern, Wheatbelt, Goldfields, Midwest/Gascoyne, Pilbara and the Kimberley.
The public housing waitlist in Kimberley had blown out to an average of 226 weeks, or four years and four months, according to numbers supplied to Western Australia’s Parliament in September. Those on the state’s priority list need to wait 118 weeks, or two years and three months.
“The Cook government’s call for submissions processes are part of several reforms we’re undertaking to strengthen and accelerate the delivery of social housing across Western Australia,” said Housing Minister John Carey.
The government says it is investing $2.6 billion in social housing and homelessness measures, including delivering around 4,000 social dwellings, and refurbishments and maintenance work to thousands more. It says more than 1,900 social homes have been completed, with a further 1,000 under contract or construction.
ShelterWA chief executive officer Kath Snell said, “Shelter WA warmly welcomes the government’s announcement to provide regional-focused support for new and refurbished community housing.
“We know there’s an urgent need for more social and community housing and while there is more work to be done, we welcome this $50 million investment to support registered community housing providers.”
ShelterWA last week called on the Cook government to retrofit all of Western Australia’s 42,000 social housing dwellings by 2030, saying the undertaking could wipe $50 million off social housing renters’ energy bills every year by making homes energy efficient.
Their call came on the same day the Albanese and Cook governments announced more than $8 million in funding to deliver 16 new social housing dwellings in southern Perth’s Coolbellup for seniors on the public housing waitlist.
That followed the Albanese and Cook governments partnering up to deliver 219 new homes on Pier Street in the Perth CBD, with 66 apartments of those to be new social rental homes and 44 to be affordable rental homes.
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 5,100 people are currently being assisted by specialist homelessness services in WA, up by 1,100 people over just five years. Over 2022-23, 1,100 people reported they were sleeping rough in the month before they sought help, nearly double the amount five years earlier.
