Short-term housing fix as uni rooms to be ready mid-year

Facilities at a major Brisbane university will be transformed into emergency housing by the middle of the year.

Emergency housing at Griffith University in Mount Gravatt will be built by the middle of the year, providing 200 beds to those in need of urgent shelter.

The Palaszczuk government will announce on Wednesday that construction is under way at the university campus to transform the vacant student accommodation into short-term housing.

It comes more than 140 days after the government first announced plans to repurpose the site, promising it would work quickly to get the accommodation up and running.

The temporary housing came about as a result of the state government’s housing roundtable, which Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk called in response to The Courier-Mail’s Hitting Home series.

Student accommodation at Griffith University Mount Gravatt.

The government has confirmed for the first time that construction of the emergency housing at Griffith is expected to be finished by mid-2023.

Kitchen and bathroom facilities at the site will be shared, while the rooms will include bed space and a small living area as part of a redesign to the layout of the complex.

The state’s Housing Department is still in discussions with housing providers, with a date on when the site will open to occupants yet to be decided.

Two hundred unused student beds at Griffith University at Mount Gravatt will be repurposed for emergency housing, to be ready mid-year.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles said the facility would “provide a buffer” to Queenslanders struggling to find a home before they return to the private rental market.

“It will mean a roof over the heads of more Queenslanders when they need it most,” he said.

“The plan to repurpose 200 unused student beds came out of our housing roundtable, showing what can be achieved by working together.

“The housing crisis has hit many Queenslanders who have never before found themselves homeless and we are committed to turning this around.”

Housing Minister Leeanne Enoch said her department was working with community housing and support providers to determine how the facility would operate ahead of the completion of construction.

“This facility is another example of our commitment to work across government and the private sector to house more vulnerable Queenslanders sooner,” Ms Enoch said.

“Once complete, the complex will provide vital short-term housing for adults as they are supported into longer-term, more secure accommodation.”

Economic Development Queensland was tasked with assessing the safety and suitability of the site, determining a simple refurbishment would not be enough to provide appropriate living conditions.

The Courier-Mail’s Hitting Home series last year prompted the government to convene a landmark housing summit, where they committed an extra $1bn to the state’s Housing Investment Fund.