Number of social housing beds in Qld has lifted by less than 1 per cent as ‘crisis’ worsens

Queensland’s social housing crisis continues to spiral as the number of people desperate for a roof over their head soars and the number of bedrooms built rose by less than 1 per cent.

Advocates have warned Queensland’s social housing crisis will continue to spiral after less than one per cent of bedrooms were built for the needy over four years as the number of those searching for a home soared by nearly 80 per cent.

A little more than 1100 bedrooms were allocated to vulnerable Queenslanders in the four years to the end of June, but in the same period the number of applicants on the waiting list exploded by 78 per cent to nearly 28,000.

Analysis of the state government tenancy data has revealed the number of bedrooms decreased in nearly two dozen local government areas between 2017 and 2021 and just 59 were added in Brisbane.

The Moreton Bay region lost 119 bedrooms as the Queensland Council of Social Service declared the state is “absolutely in a housing crisis”.

Chief executive Aimee McVeigh said both major levels of government urgently needed to fix the catastrophe, blasting the federal government for being “completely asleep at the wheel” while the Palaszczuk government’s record spend “does nothing to knock the edges off the crisis”.

The number of Queenslanders on the waiting list categorised in “very high” need was more than 20,400 and growing exponentially.

“Those are people who could be women escaping domestic violence, older people, people with a disability and people who have additional compelling reasons why they urgently need access to housing,” Ms McVeigh said.

The Palaszczuk government allocated $2.9 billion in last year’s state budget to boost supply over four years but the advocacy group warned this was just a “first step” and “won’t even nearly meet the needs of those people who are in critical and acute need of housing support”.

A spokesperson for Housing Minister Leeanne Enoch said the spend in the budget was the “largest concentrated investment in Queensland’s history”.

“We have commenced 4,036 new social homes since 2015/16 — 2,972 since the release of the Queensland Housing Strategy in 2017,” the spokesperson said.

Housing Minister Leeanne Enoch focused on the state government’s record spend on the issue. Picture: Kevin Farmer

But Ms McVeigh said the compounding situation has meant those in need of a home are now waiting more than two years to be housed, which is more than double what it was in 2017.

Opposition spokesperson for housing Tim Mander accused the government’s policy as been a “hoax” and questioned why the number of bedrooms had only incrementally increased since 2017.

He urged the Palaszczuk government to set targets to reduce the number of Queenslanders waiting to be placed in social housing.

“They just seem to have no qualms at all about the list getting larger and larger,” Mr Mander said.

“They’re not making a dent.”

Queensland Council of Social Service CEO Aimee McVeigh says the crisis impacts all Queenslanders. Picture: Heidi Petith

The housing crisis in Queensland extends beyond the very needy, Ms McVeigh said, after Brisbane’s housing prices soared by nearly 30 per cent in 2021 and rental vacancy rates in some areas fell below 1 per cent.

She warned the lack of availability for affordable homes would create wider social issues and impact the workforce more broadly.

“There are hardly any rental properties available for people so this is not just affecting people on low incomes,” Ms McVeigh said.

“Our workforce can’t find houses, which is going to be a huge issue going forward and just makes the difficulties for businesses and organisations getting staff even more difficult.”