Damning report into social housing finds department struggles to keep pace with demand

A damning report from the Auditor-General found Toowoomba’s social housing supply falls short of what is needed to keep families safe but it is a failure frontline services have known about for years.

A DAMNING social housing report has found the number of homeless people in the Darling Downs has doubled in the past three years.

This has led to the average wait time to secure social housing blowing out to about one and a half years.

The figures were released in the auditor-general’s annual report into the Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy’s provision of social housing.

It found that about 75 per cent of the 1000 people currently waiting for social housing in the Darling Downs are considered “high need”.

The category includes families fleeing domestic violence, people who have been homeless for several years and the elderly.

It comes as no surprise to Protea Place founder Amanda Dalton who has seen a steady increase in women asking for help to find accommodation, access counselling or to simply have a safe place to shower and do laundry.

“Anything that can be done to improve systems for social housing, especially around acquiring more properties, should be done,” she said.

“If waiting for them to be built is not feasible then the government needs to look at purchasing or leasing properties.”

Protea Place founder Amanda Dalton.

Ms Dalton said growing demand for social housing was the result of the housing crisis that had priced low-income families and elderly residents out of the market.

‘I don’t see any sign of that slowing down,” she said.

“Property prices are increasing, interest rates go up, and that has a real flow-on effect for all households.”

The report lists eight recommendations including running regular reviews of the register to purge obsolete applications, modelling future demand at the state and federal level and developing methods to transition residents away from social housing.

Housing Minister Leeanne Enoch acknowledged the challenges outlined in the report and the market pressures fuelling them.

“The department has taken early and decisive action that delivers on recommendations in the report,” she said.

Shadow Treasurer David Janetzki.

This included reaching out to 98 per cent of households and finding about 21 per cent were either uncontactable, no longer eligible, or no longer required social housing.

While refining how the system works may free up some stock the government must look at leasing or buying more housing.

Ms Dalton called for the state to act and so has Toowoomba South MP David Janetzki. He said the city could not wait for the state government to act and should look at local solutions.

“The report has highlighted how the state government has failed vulnerable people who need a roof over their heads,” he said.

“Countless more residents are fighting to find a rental amid record low rental vacancy rates and skyrocketing cost-of-living pressures.

“This crisis has been seven years in the making, and hollow announcements without real funding are simply not going to cut it anymore.”