Queensland plans 37 transitional housing projects with 24/7 support for people sleeping rough

HouGarden Australia, 10 November — The Queensland government in Australia says a new Supported Accommodation program, made up of 37 projects and expected to deliver more than 600 places for people sleeping rough, will help close a gap in the state's homelessness response, but it has given no firm timeline or cost.

This is a Queensland state matter, not a New Zealand policy. New Zealand also has its own problems with transitional housing and homelessness, so the Australian approach may be of passing interest as a point of comparison.

Supported Accommodation is transitional housing. It is not long-term housing. The state government says the homes will provide 24/7 on-site specialist support. The aim is to help tenants find pathways to more permanent homes, either in the private market or in social and affordable housing.

The 37 projects and the more than 600 places are expected figures. They have not been built.

Housing Minister Sam O'Connor, whose Liberal National Party (LNP) government holds office in Queensland, said all projects would be identified by the end of the current term. He could not say how many would be housing people by then. He also could not say what the initiative would cost. There is therefore no clear timeline or cost for the program yet.

"It's part of our record capital program to get the new ones built, but it's also the way that we're reinvesting funding," Mr O'Connor said.

"We're going to have all of them identified by the end of this term, and we're going to have work underway on a fairly big chunk of them as well, because there is no time to waste."

"This will be for young Queenslanders, it'll be for families, it'll be for individuals, and it will be absolutely life changing."

The government points to the case of Ethan Shrubb as the kind of pathway it wants to repeat. Mr Shrubb slept rough for 18 months while battling addiction and struggling with self-worth. He has now spent two months in an inner-Brisbane apartment, where he balances IT studies with a warehousing job. His home was secured with the help of local community organisations and crisis support services.

"It's priceless, it's just surreal, because when you're out on the streets for that long, it doesn't feel like something that you'll reobtain," he said.

"Not only has it been somewhere safe to sleep that I can actually rest and not stress, but I can build the foundations of everything that I've been trying to work towards for a long time."

Non-profit charitable donation group Givit also supported Mr Shrubb. It donated many essentials, including a bed, a laptop and a chest of drawers.

Mr O'Connor said the case showed the limits of simply providing shelter. "What Ethan's story also shows is that it's not enough to just put a roof over someone's head," he said. "You've got to have a better model of doing things."

The Queensland Council of Social Service, the state's peak community services body, backed the wrap-around support but called for more. Chief executive Aimee McVeigh said that support was vital to break the cycle of homelessness.

"There is a gap for crisis and transitional accommodation, and we urgently need more resources to fill that gap," she said.

Ms McVeigh also pressed for permanent options. "We would like to see more models of supportive housing that are permanent, because supportive housing should include options where people can permanently live in accommodation and permanently access support."

"There's really good evidence that says that there are people in our community who are going to need support to maintain their tenancy."

She said continued investment was crucial because the housing crisis was continuing "unabated". "We know there are still too many people waiting on the social housing register," she said.

"Rents in Queensland have continued to increase, and we have a really tight rental market, which means that it is almost impossible to find an affordable rental property."

The state government has committed to delivering one million new homes by 2044. Of those, 53,500 are to be social and community homes. That is a target, not a completed figure.

Mr O'Connor said the LNP remained focused on the goal. He was asked whether he believed the housing crisis was better or worse just past the halfway mark of the party's first term. He did not answer directly.

"The number one thing that we can focus on is getting more housing, more supply of all types out of the ground," he said.

"Our record speaks for itself in that regard. We've had four record quarters of housing construction growth."