Social housing numbers jump 213 every year for six years

About 213 state owned and managed public homes have been added to the Palaszczuk Government’s inventory every year since 2015.

The number of state owned and managed public homes in Queensland has grown by about 2 per cent since the Palaszczuk Government came to power, new figures have revealed.

As of 2020, there were 54,851 public homes that were managed and owned by the state government, an increase of 1069 homes from 2015 – or an average of about 213 a year.

The new figures come after it was revealed that the number of applications on the social housing register deemed to be of very high need jumped by 50 per cent in the year to September amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The government unveiled a commitment in 2017 to build 4522 new social homes within 10 years – an average of 452 per year – as well as 1034 “affordable homes” under its Queensland Housing Strategy.

The number of social housing dwellings managed or owned by the government increased from 54,215 in 2018 to 54,851 in 2020, representing an average of 318 new homes a year.

The number of community managed social houses over the same period of time also increased by an average of 297 a year – according to a parliamentary question on notice.

Housing Minister Leeanne Enoch defended the government’s record, saying the new figures about government owned and managed properties don’t paint the “full picture” of social housing investment in Queensland.

Housing Minister Leeanne Enoch. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jono Searle

She pointed to government partnerships with private industry and community housing providers, including the Partnering for Growth initiative – where there are 1121 new social and affordable houses approved for “commencement”.

“The Housing Construction Jobs Program will deliver over 5500 social housing and affordable homes by 2027,” Ms Enoch said.

“We remain on track to meet our five-year target to commence 2972 new homes throughout the state, with a further 529 new homes targeted to commence by the end of June 2021.

“Of the 2236 commencements to date, 1415 have been completed.

“Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the Palaszczuk Government has continued to build new homes and deliver a pipeline of work for local trades and builders.”