South Australia’s worst public housing hotspots revealed

SA’s worst housing areas have been revealed in exclusive data obtained by The Advertiser. Search the tables to see what has been happening in your suburb.

South Australian Police have arrested a woman and will charge her with murder following the discovery of a man’s body inside a public housing home in Port Lincoln. Picture: 7News

Public housing troublemakers cost South Australian taxpayers nearly $5 million last financial year — including more than $600,000 just to fix broken windows — as anti-social behaviour complaints across the state’s worst suburbs continue to surge, exclusive data obtained by The Advertiser reveals.

The South Australian Housing Trust data shows a staggering $4.85 million was spent on what is classified as “non-reasonable wear and tear” in public housing homes during 2023–24 — including at least 1600 broken window incidents, $1.5 million on excessive rubbish removal, and $1.2 million on carpentry repairs that went beyond normal use.

Public housing units in Mount Gambier. Picture Roger Wyman

The figures, along with a jump in anti-social behaviour complaints, have reignited debate over public housing policy — with calls for tougher tenant vetting and faster evictions on the one hand, or on-site mental health supports or even live-in managers at high-risk blocks.

Mount Gambier topped the state with $638,426 in non-reasonable maintenance costs — including $27,000 on glazier fees. Whyalla Stuart followed with $540,513, and Port Augusta with $258,744.

In metropolitan Adelaide, Morphett Vale was the worst-hit suburb, racking up $100,071 in damage, including more than $50,000 in rubbish removal alone.

Housing Minister Nick Champion. Picture: Russell Millard Photography

State Opposition housing spokesperson Michelle Lensink. Picture: Russell Millard Photography

Rubbish at Novar Gardens Housing Trust at 176 Morphett Road, SA. Picture: Emma Brasier

Several suburbs and towns recorded dramatic complaint surges:

Edwardstown: 118 to 204 complaints (+73%)

Adelaide CBD: 148 to 241 complaints (+63%)

Salisbury North: 71 to 99 complaints (+39%)

Mount Gambier: 126 to 165 complaints (+31%)

Across the state, Housing SA recorded more than 7100 complaints, up from 6900 the previous year.

However, the figures show there have been apparent improvements in the previously troubled blocks at Morphett Vale and Kilburn.

Data from between 1 July and 31 December last year also showed that the Housing Trust received almost 4,000 complaints related to anti-social behaviour.

In a statement a Housing Trust spokeswoman said while they acknowledged that “mental illness, personality disorders, trauma and other issues” often means residents “cannot sustain private rentals or home ownership.”

“The Trust has no additional powers above any other landlord to compel people to do anything (engage with support services, change behaviour, supervise daily) simply because we are a government housing provider.”

Nick Champion, Minister for Housing and Urban Development said he had “strengthened our approach to dealing with the problem tenants by removing the use of verbal warnings and going straight to formal, written warnings.”

State Opposition housing spokesperson Michelle Lensink told The Advertiser that the government had failed to “provide consequences for people” in public housing who damage their homes and cause problems for other tenants.

“Evictions for anti-social behaviour have dropped from an average of 208 per year under the Liberals to around 172 per year under Labor — a reduction of approximately 20%,” she said adding this was a sign fewer people were facing consequences; despite the rise in anti-social behaviour.

A graffiti-covered door in a Findon housing block. Picture: Tim Joy

Data in some of the state’s more notorious housing blocks showed that in:

Gilberton, where a 65-year-old man was found dead in a Housing Trust unit on Walkerville Terrace on June 16 after a 30-year-old woman allegedly smashed through a rear window to gain entry, recorded a rise in Housing SA anti-social behaviour complaints from 60 to 69 between the 2022-23 and 2023-24 financial years

Findon — where residents described violent drug-fuelled scenes, boarded-up units and used syringes in Advertiser coverage this year — recorded a rise in Housing SA anti-social behaviour complaints from 111 to 127 over the past year.

Novar Gardens, where The Advertiser previously reported bikies, roaming pitbulls and a spate of fire‑damaged Housing Trust units — dubbed “crack heaven” by terrified residents — also saw anti‑social behaviour complaints rise from 44 to 60.

Originally published as South Australia’s worst public housing hotspots revealed