Hidden housing demand
19,000 eligible for help
AN independent review to get a true picture of unmet social housing demand in Tasmania is “desperately needed” following the release of a ”concerning” new report, social services providers say.
A discussion paper released yesterday by Compass Housing Services — a non-government social housing provider — showed the number of Tasmanian households eligible for social housing in Tasmania could be up to almost 600 per cent higher than waiting lists suggest.
The report, which uses census data to show the extent of existing social housing demand, showed the number of households eligible for social housing but not currently living in it was equivalent to about 40 per cent of all rental households in the state.
There are currently more than 3200 households on Tasmania’s social housing waiting lists, equivalent to 24 per cent of the total number of social housing dwellings.
The report’s author Martin Kennedy said the results were “deeply concerning” and sent a stark warning to the State Government about its backlog of applicants.
“Income and asset data from the last census suggest there are an additional 19,000 households eligible for social housing who have, as yet, chosen not to apply,” Mr Kennedy said.
“If every household in Tasmania who met the eligibility criteria for social housing decided to apply, waiting lists would increase by 598 per cent — the highest increase of any Australian state.”
Tasmanian Council of Social Service Chief Executive Kym Goodes said it was hard to imagine that in a period of economic growth in Tasmania, such a large number of Tasmanians had “given up putting up their hand for social housing and other basic support”.
She said TasCOSS together with Shelter Tasmania and other social service providers had advocated for more than four years for the State Government to undertake a comprehensive analysis to get a clear picture of unmet demand in Tasmania.
“An independent assessment is desperately needed to ensure the State Government is making strategic and evidenced-based decisions and informed choices on how they respond to the needs of Tasmanians,” she said.
A State Government spokesman said more people were “being housed faster in Tasmania, and the number of people being housed in the March quarter was 243”.