In
2016 est. 37,715 people in New South Wales were recorded as
homeless on Census Night.
The following year the
NSW Berejiklian Coalition Government had a public
housing stock total of 110,221 dwellings and an est. 60,000 people
on the Dept. of Housing 2017 waiting list.
Below is the state government’s answer to the effects of decreasing
public housing stock and federal Coalition Government cuts to public
housing funding allocations to the states - introduce a new initiative under the 'Opportunity
Pathways' program which will cut the housing waiting list by increasing eligibility restrictions, privatise service delivery to certain categories of public housing applicants and tenants in order to ensure that vulnerable individuals and families are discouraged from seeking housing assistance.
The
Daily Telegraph,
7 December 2018, p.2:
Public housing applicants
will have to get a job if they want a taxpayer-funded home under a tough new
test to be introduced in NSW.
The state government is
overhauling the public housing system by stopping residents who
languish on welfare for decades feeling entitled to a cheap home, paid for by
the taxpayer, for their entire life.
Currently less than a
quarter of social housing tenants are in the workforce. There are
about 55,000 people on the public housing waitlist in NSW, and
under the new program they will be able to skip the queue if they agree to get
a job.
But if they get into the
home then fail to get a job or maintain work they will be booted from the
property.
Once they are secure in
a job they will then move into the private rental market and out of the welfare
system.
Social Housing Minister
Pru Goward said the program will “help break the cycle of disadvantage”.
“This is about equipping
tenants with the skills they need to not only obtain a job, but keep it over
the longer term and achieve their full potential,” she said.
“We also want to set to
a clear expectation that social housing is not for life and, for
those who can work, social housing should be used as a stepping stone to
moving into the private rental market.” The new program will be trialled in
Punchbowl and Towradgi, near Wollongong, for three years across 20 properties.
Its success will be evaluated over this time and it’s likely the program will
be expanded across the state.
Homes will be leased for
six months at a time, with renewal dependent on the resident maintaining their
job or education, such as TAFE, and meeting agreed goals within the plan.
RFT ID
RFT
Type
Published
Closes
Category
Agency
Tender Details
The NSW Department of
Family and Community Services (FACS) is seeking Expressions of Interest (EOI)
from non-government organisatons with the capability to deliver the Opportunity
Pathways program.
Opportunity Pathways is
designed for social housing tenants and their household members, approved
social housing applicants and clients receiving Rent Choice subsidies who
aspire and have the capacity to, with the appropriate support, gain, retain and
increase employment.
The program is voluntary
and uses a person-centred case management approach to provide wrap-around
support and facilitate participant access to services to achieve economic and
housing independence (where appropriate).
The objectives of the
program are to:
assist
participants to gain, retain or increase employment, by accessing supports and
practical assistance, and by participating in education, training and work
opportunities
encourage
and support participants to positively exit social housing or Rent Choice
subsidies to full housing independence, to reduce their reliance on governement
assistance, where appropriate
Please refer to the
Program Guidelines for further details.
Opportunity Pathways
will run for three years and delivered across NSW in those locations where a
need and service gaps are identified.
The program will be
delivered by one or more providers following an EOI and Select Tender.
Location
NSW Regions: Far
North Coast, Mid North Coast, New England, Central Coast, Hunter,
Cumberland/Prospect, Nepean, Northern Sydney, Inner West, South East Sydney,
South West Sydney, Central West, Orana/Far West, Riverina/Murray, Illawarra,
Southern Highlands
Estimated Value
From $0.00 to $36,100,000.00
RFT Type
Expression of Interest
for Specific Contracts - An invitation for Expression of Interest (EOI) for
pre-registration of prospective tenderers for a specific work or service.
Applicants are initially evaluated against published selection criteria, and
those who best meet the required criteria are invited to Tender (as tender type
Pre-Qualified/Invited). [my yellow highlighting]
As of June
2018 in NSW there were 200,564 people registered with Centrelink whose income
was Newstart Allowance and, by September there were only est. 82,400
job vacancies available as the Internet Vacancy Index had been
falling since April 2018. The number of job vacancies were still
falling in October 2018 to 66,000 job vacancies.
Just three months out from a state election and it doesn't appear that the Berejiklian Cabinet or other Liberal and Nationals members of the NSW Parliament have thought this new policy through to its logical conclusion.
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