Submission on the draft legislation and RIS for a National Regulatory System for community housing (19January 2012)
In response to the Draft national regulatory system, the Federation has prepared a detailed submission. Overall, the Federation supports the options to establish a nationally consistent regulatory system enacted in one jurisdiction, the proposed regulatory Code and the establishment of the National Regulatory Council. The Federation has also made 17 detailed recommendations. Read our submission here
Residential Tenancies Act Seminar – Emerging issues for Social Housing (18 January 2012)
Tuesday 14th February 2012
The Federation will be holding a seminar for members to explore the impact of the RTA changes and how the legislation is being applied when matters are taken to the CTTT.
There will be panel discussion with the following speakers – Virginia McKay from Fair Trading NSW, Lynden Esdaile from HAC. Grant Arbuthnot from the Tenants Union, Dr Clive Morgan CHD and a CTTT member. They will be looking at such issues as dealing with family violence and the legislation, water charges for community housing providers, no cause evictions and good decision making.
For further information please refer to our events page here. To register, please complete the registration form here
2011 State of Supply Report (21 December 2011)
The third National Housing Supply Council’s 2011 State of Supply Report presents the estimates of the underlying demand for housing and the supply of dwellings in Australia, and projections of underlying demand and supply over the 20 years to 2030. The report also examines housing affordability trends, and considers the factors contributing to Australia's housing shortage.
The report shows that demand for housing has again outstripped supply, despite the increase in the housing supply in 2010. The report also confirms that the largest housing shortfalls are in NSW and Queensland, with 73,700 and 61,900 homes respectively. For more details, please see Key Findings and Full Report.
Consolidated approach to housing with announcement of changes to the Commonwealth Ministry and the Cabinet (12 December 2011)
Prime Minister Julia Gillard today announced changes to the Ministry and the Cabinet. The Hon Robert McClelland becomes the Minister for Housing and Homelessness, within Cabinet, responsible for all Commonwealth housing policies and programs. Read more in our e bulletin
Review of Not-for-profit Governance Arrangements – Consultation paper (6 December 2011)
The Australian Government has released a consultation paper on current governance arrangements for the not-for-profit sector. The outcomes of this review will help form the requirements and principles for registered not for profits in the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission legislation, starting from 1 July 2012. . The closing date for submissions is Friday 6 January 2012.
For more information on the Consultation Paper, making a submission or for document downloads please see the Treasury webpage here.
Submission on the consultation paper ‘A definition of Charity’ (6 December 2011)
In October 2011, the Government has released a consultation paper on the definition of charity. The Federation has made a submission to the Treasury’s paper, in which we strongly support the government’s decision to introduce a statutory definition of charity. This will enable a greater clarity and certainty for community housing providers as well as an opportunity to clearly align the definition of charity with both public policy objectives and inherent public benefit. Read our submission here.
Airds to be renewed via a Private-Public Partnership (PPP) (30 November 2011)
Ministers Goward and Pearce announced today that Airds Bradbury is to be renewed via a PPP. The renewal will take 15 to 30 years and will transform the existing 1,470 public housing homes into approximately 2,000 homes in a mix of social, affordable and private housing. The social housing component will be managed by a community housing provider. You can read the media release for more details of the announcement.
The EOI document will be released in late January 2012 and before its release there will be a period of industry engagement. See the NSW Government tendering website, www.tenders.nsw.gov.au/dfs, for more information for parties wishing to form a consortium.
Consultation on the National Regulatory System for community housing (24 November 2011)
The proposed national regulatory system of community housing is open for consultation across the country. To read the regulatory impact statement consultation paper and other fact sheets, or to make an online submission, go to the national regulatory system’s website: www.nrsch.gov.au. All stakeholders are encouraged to make a submission on this important reform. Submissions close on 20th January 2012.
The Federation’s submission to the Harold Park redevelopment process(15 November 2011)
The former Harold Park Raceway at Forest Lodge is to be the site for over 1,000 new dwellings built by Mirvac. One of the conditions of the redevelopment is that the site include a component of affordable and seniors housing. The Federation made a submission to the City of Sydney Council in response to the affordable and seniors housing component of Stage 1 of the Development Application process for the site. In it we supported the provision of affordable housing on the site, but questioned the appropriateness of the designated precinct, the proposed staging of the development and the achievability of the affordable housing units on the designated parcel of land. Click here to read our full submission.
State of Australian Cities 2011 Report released (20 October 2011)
The 2011 State of Australian Cities was released by the Hon Anthony Albanese MP, Minister for Infrastructure and Transport on Thursday 20 October. It provides a comprehensive snapshot of Australian cities.
With respect to housing, the report highlights a shortfall of 200,000 properties across Australia. Younger people in particular experience difficulties in buying their first home, meaning they stay in the family home or in rental market for longer. Other findings confirm that Australia has one of the largest increases in real house prices among OECD countries and this is coupled with the continuing trend of decreasing average household size.
The State of Australian Cities 2011 report is available at www.infrastructure.gov.au.
The government is offering grants for ideas on increasing the sustainability and livability of cities. The grants range from $500,000 to $4 million. Consortia of local or state governments and not-for-profit organisations are eligible - See The Livable Cities Program for more details:
www.nationbuildingprogram.gov.au/funding/liveablecities/index.aspx
National Social Housing Survey – a summary of national results now available (7 October 2011)
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has released the latest data on social housing, The 2010 National Social Housing Survey. The 2010 survey is the first since the National Affordable Housing Agreement (NAHA) between the Commonwealth and the states and territories was introduced in 2009. The survey collected information from both public and community housing tenants.
The survey results showed that tenants are satisfied with most social housing, and that the long term trend for higher levels of satisfaction by community housing tenants continues.
For more detailed findings please see the full AIHW report.
NRAS Round 4 – successful applications announced (7 Oct 2011)
Incentives for National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS) were announced today, following a joint Media Release from Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer, Wayne Swan, and Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, Tony Burke.
The total amount of Round 4 incentives announced was 17, 363. Of these, 4,806 (28%) were for New South Wales, and 2,121 of the NSW incentives were awarded to community housing providers, representing 44% of the state’s Round 4 NRAS incentives.
Of the 50,000 total NRAS incentives under the government’s program, there are still 12,000 yet to be announced. A significant amount of these will probably be announced in a further Round 4 announcement. The successful Round 4 applicants can be found on the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities website.
Record of Understanding between police and providers announced (6 Oct 2011)
It has finally happened! We are pleased to announce that after extensive consultation, the record of understanding (ROU) between NSW Police and registered community housing providers has been announced. This has been a long time in train (some say 4 years). What this means is that community housing providers, like Housing NSW, will be able to exchange information with their local police stations about crime and anti-social behaviour. The ROU will be reviewed annually by Housing NSW and the NSW Police Force. At this stage, the providers covered under the ROU are the 26 registered providers participating in Housing Pathways.
Please find the ROU, process flow-chart and the Housing NSW FAQ sheet by clicking the hyperlinks.
See previously posted items: "What's New" - archived | 
