Legislative Council Thursday 25, June, 2020

Ms FORREST question to LEADER of the GOVERNMENT in the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, Mrs HISCUTT

With regard to safe and secure housing for victims of family violence when escaping a violent and/or unsafe living arrangement on the North West Coast:

1. How many properties are available in each Local Government area in the North West region available to women and families escaping family violence or abusive relationships?

2. How are service providers who provide counselling, advice, care and/or support to victims advised of the location and availability of these properties?

3. How many victims escaping from family violence are waiting for safe housing in each Local Government area; and
    a. How long has each person or family been waiting?

Answers

1. The following accommodation options are available for women and families in the North West region escaping domestic violence:
Crisis and transitional accommodation:

• The Warrawee Women’s Shelter in Ulverstone provides
4 beds of supported shelter accommodation for women and manages 10 Housing Tasmania owned transitional properties for homeless Tasmanians including women in the Central Coast municipality.

• The Salvation Army’s Oakleigh Accommodation Service in Burnie provides 5 beds for shelter accommodation and manages 13 Housing Tasmania owned transitional properties for homeless Tasmanians including women in the Burnie municipality.

• Wyndarra Centre in Smithton manages 3 Housing Tasmania owned transitional properties in the Circular Head municipality for homeless Tasmanians including women.
Rapid Rehousing (supported) transitional accommodation:

• Under the Rapid Rehousing Family Violence program, there are 19 head-leased private rental properties available in the North West region for women and families escaping domestic violence.

• 14 of these properties are in the Devonport municipality, 3 are in the Burnie municipality, and 2 are in the Central Coast municipality.

• The Government recently announced funding to secure 20 more properties statewide and these are being recruited and assessed at the moment by the contracting organisation, Centacare Evolve Housing.
Short term and Brokered emergency accommodation:

• At the end of April, the Government announced $4.3 million to expand homelessness services to Tasmanians in need.

• This included funding the Salvation Army to run a 10 bed, 24/7 Safe Space program in Burnie for six months.

• It also included more funds to expand Housing Connect’s capacity to provide emergency accommodation in motels and cabins statewide including in the North-West.

2. How are service providers who provide counselling, advice, care and/or support to victims advised of the location and availability of these properties?

• Housing Connect is the place for anyone requiring housing assistance to go, including individuals escaping family violence.

3. How many victims escaping from family violence are waiting for safe housing in each Local Government area; and how long has each person or family been waiting?

• As at the end of May 2020, there were 75 applicants on the Housing register in the North-West who identified being impacted by family violence.

• In Burnie, there were 19, the Central Coast, there were 17 and Devonport there were 21, with 18 in various other locations (note – these numbers are not disclosed due to the potential to identify applicant).

• Regarding wait times, three quarters of those waiting have been on the waiting list for less for less than a year, with a further 17% waiting for up to one and a half years and the remainder who were waiting longer.

• Our housing support organisations around the state work closely with applicants to identify ways to decrease the time someone is waiting for housing. The time that it takes to house somebody on the waitlist, will be influenced by the needs of an applicant (such as number of bedrooms or special requirements) and the number of suburbs the applicant selects.

• The Government is committed to delivering more social houses to help Tasmanians in need, especially women, over the long term. That is why we recently announced that we will bring forward funding of $14 million and provide new funding of $10 million to deliver 220 new social housing dwellings by 2022, 18 months earlier than planned.

• We also announced that the Government will invest an additional $100 million in partnership with Community Housing Providers to deliver up to an additional 1,000 new social houses.

• These investments complement, but are additional to, targets and actions in the Affordable Housing Action Plan 2019 – 2023.