72. Prioritise further infrastructure investment in social and affordable housing by:
- assessing the level of sustained investment required to accelerate the All paths lead to a home – WA’s 10 year strategy on homelessness 2020–2030 and accompanying action plan, and support people experiencing or at risk of homelessness
- undertaking a comprehensive audit of social housing assets, including assessments of housing stock condition and opportunities to extend the life of existing assets, as well as the opportunity to better use land assets
- reviewing the social housing growth targets in the WA Housing Strategy 2020–2030 and setting revised evidence-based net growth targets aligned to forecast need
- monitoring and reviewing the effectiveness of affordable housing mechanisms, including rental and home ownership programs and policy settings
- developing a sustained social and affordable housing investment program informed by regional housing plans (see Recommendation 71a) and in line with revised social housing targets (see Recommendation 72c) and existing affordable housing targets.
The WA Government responded to Foundation for a stronger tomorrow in February 2023. Recommendation 72 is fully supported. For further information please refer to the response document.
Actions:
72.106 Support the delivery of around 3,300 social housing homes
72.107 Deliver two Common Ground facilities in East Perth and Mandurah to provide supported long-term housing for people who are sleeping rough or experiencing chronic homelessness
72.108 Implement WA's 10 year Strategy on Homelessness, including implementing the Homelessness Action Plan 2020 - 2025
72.153 Assess the condition and performance of the social housing portfolio and the effectiveness of affordable housing mechanisms to inform future investments
4/4 actions on schedule
72.106 On schedule
More than 2,200 new social housing dwellings have been completed since 1 July 2021. The delivery of the 4,000 homes is due to be completed in 2027. The Government has continued its investment to improve social housing and homelessness services with an additional $400m allocated to the Social and Affordable Housing Investment Fund (SAHIF) for the delivery of additional social and affordable housing projects.
72.107 On schedule
Construction of East Perth Common Ground is ongoing and is on track to reach practical completion by Q3 2025. The public tender for a construction head contractor to build Mandurah Common Ground closed in May 2024. Subject to successful negotiations, award of the tender is on track for August 2024.
72.108 On schedule
Implementation of Western Australia's 10-Year Strategy on Homelessness 2020-2030 is progressing, including the roll out of the Regional Supportive Landlord Model in Geraldton, with 12 of the 13 properties to house rough sleepers at a cost of $5.2m. The Government is also providing $7.5m as part of a $12m project to demolish existing, ageing and no longer fit-for-purpose accommodation units St Patrick's Fremantle and replace these with 28 newly built social housing dwellings. The pilot Djuripiny Mia program is actively supporting more than 145 individuals across 75 active tenancies.
72.153 On schedule
Assessment of the asset portfolio and benchmarking maintenance requirements is underway, to inform future investment. The Building Conditions Assessment (BCA) program has inspected more than 7,000 assets of a pilot of 10,000 properties.
A review of Keystart's product settings has resulted in an increases to the income and property price limits for all Keystart products.
A review of Keystart's shared equity program has commenced to look at the role of shared equity in the housing continuum and explore opportunities to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the program.