QCOSS says 1600 Mackay residents are on social housing register
More and more families across Mackay are on the edge of homelessness as Queensland’s housing crisis sharpens and average wait times for stable accommodation blow out to 15 months. Here’s what needs to happen.
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Families across Mackay are on the edge of homelessness as the region’s housing crisis continues to tighten, shocking new figures reveal.
Data from the Queensland Council of Social Services shows 1600 Mackay residents are on the social housing register, including 300 families with children.
Of those, 271 families, or 90 per cent, are in high or very high need of social housing, meaning rental accommodation is not an option.
The average wait time for families on the register is 15 months and Mackay’s rental statistics show why.
Mackay’s northern suburbs have experienced rent price increases as high as 50 per cent in the past five years and the overall rental vacancy rate for 2022 sits at 0.7 per cent.
CASA Mackay manager Lorraine Wirth is at the coalface of the crisis and she regularly hears stories of families living in cars, tents or couch surfing.
“People on a low income or a benefit of any sort don’t have much chance of getting an affordable property,” she said.
The ultra tight market is in part the result of a population boom into Mackay, driven in turn by a mining boom and the southerners moving to the regions in the Covid era.
To encourage more affordable housing options, Mackay Regional Council voted in February to offer developers a 50 per cent discount on infrastructure charges.
Mackay Mayor Greg Williamson said at the time there was “nowhere to live” in the city.
“We probably have 1600 or 1700 jobs available everyday,” he said.
“When people are interested in a job in Mackay, the first thing they do is look for somewhere to live.
“With a rental vacancy rate under 1 per cent, there’s nowhere to live.
“There’s certainly a lot of development going on in houses but it’s a lot of residents actually building new homes.
“So one of the areas we’re really looking at is affordable housing.”
Even with council incentives, Mackay’s housing stress looks set to amplify.
The Reserve Bank of Australia raised interest rates on May 3 to restrain inflationary pressures.
Mortgage holders with a variable interest rate of 3.23 per cent will now fork out an extra $13.60 per month in repayments for each $100,000 on a home loan.
In the heat of an election, QCOSS says there are concrete steps the federal government can take to alleviate the statewide crisis.
The organisation wants funding for 5000 social housing dwellings per year, an increase to Commonwealth Rent Assistance, a rental subsidy scheme and a national strategy to address the housing crisis.
QCOSS CEO Aimee McVeigh said Queensland’s housing shortage was putting children in dire conditions.
“Children are going to school from cars, tents and motel rooms and the situation is getting worse,” she said.
“Everyone deserves a home and we are calling on all parties contesting this month’s federal election to ensure this is the case.”
Across Queensland, there are 50,301 people on the social housing register and 8113 applications with children.
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