States could be forced to pay back Commonwealth money if they don’t act on homelessness
STATES will need to meet key outcomes on homelessness or risk being forced to pay back Commonwealth funding.
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STATES will need to meet key outcomes or risk being forced to pay back Commonwealth funding as part of a new agreement on housing and homelessness.
The Turnbull Government last night announced a new national approach to improving housing outcomes and reducing the number of people sleeping rough.
An additional $375.3 million over three years to 2018-19 has been pegged to fund ongoing homeless support services, with funding to be matched by state and territory governments.
Homelessness is an increasing issue despite continued funding and focus on the area.
In 2006 there were 90,000 people sleeping rough nationally compared to 105,000 in 2011 — a 16.7 per cent increase.
Figures are collected with each new census and are yet to be updated for 2016.
As part of the latest funding the government has stipulated that states and territories will “need to meet agreed targets or the Commonwealth reserves the right to withhold a proportion of funds until performance is achieved”.
A new National Housing and Homelessness Agreement will be in place from 2018-19, with key priorities including increasing supply for affordable housing and rental properties and renewing public housing stock.
Originally published as States could be forced to pay back Commonwealth money if they don’t act on homelessness
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