Disability housing crisis

THE NDIS is using the former federal government’s failed rental affordability program as a model for its own housing project.

THE national disability insur­ance scheme is using the former federal government’s failed rental affordability program as a model for its own housing project, which will eventually cost $700 million per year.

The agency is so stricken by indecision on a policy direction to address housing needs for up to 120,000 people at NDIS maturity that it has delayed by more than a year a discussion paper on the subject.

The Australian understands that the issues paper, meant to be released in November last year, has been at the centre of bickering among the states and territories, who are of the belief that the new federal disability agency should take more responsibility for a housing solution.

The scheme aims to liberate people with disabilities from living with their carers or in aged-care homes if they are young and allow them to move into more inde­pendent housing and the priv­ate rental market.

Scheme chairman Bruce Bonyhady gave a presentation last year which showed that the NDIS should be “building on recent housing-sector reforms”, such as the $4.5 billion National Rental Affordability Scheme.

The NRAS’s last funding round was cancelled after it was revealed that the poorly designed scheme had been rorted by developers and investors who received annual $10,000 payments or tax breaks in return for building new affordable housing at 20 per cent less than market rates.

Last year, less than half the houses approved had been rented but, following stricter criteria, there are now 37,724 dwellings approved, and 24,657 have been finished and rented.

Community Housing Federation Australia executive director Carol Croce said the scale of the problem being dealt with by the agency was significant and would lead to distorted rents and a housing supply crisis if it wasn’t dealt with correctly.

She said although the NRAS was flawed, the principle should not be abandoned. “Housing is one of the key pieces of the puzzle ... if you are going to provide people with a package but not affordable housing, you are missing a significant piece of that puzzle,” Ms Croce told The Australian.

Ms Croce said the agency needed immediate planning to establish a supply pipeline of houses as those with the highest needs were already in the scheme and would need housing. “Delaying now is not a very fruitful way of spending money,” she said.

“There will definitely be pressure on rents and if the supply issue is not fixed they will be adding more people to a system that is already in crisis. The lower end of the private rental market will be crowded out even more.”

A report released by the CHFA in October raised concerns that state and territory governments would seek to diminish their role in social housing delivery in the shadow of the NDIS.

Agency chairman Bruce Bonyhady said whatever happened with the NDIS it needed to add to current housing stock.