Housing system strengthened through State Budget investment

The St Vincent de Paul Society NSW welcomes the State Budget as a positive step towards addressing the housing crisis that will make a substantive difference to the lives of thousands of people living at the margins across the state.

“In a joint report with the McKell Institute, the Society called for a multibillion dollar investment in social housing ahead of the State Budget, so we commend the action taken by the NSW Government today given the scale of the crisis confronting people across the state,” said Yolanda Saiz, St Vincent de Paul Society NSW CEO.

“There are currently more than 57,000 applicants waiting for social housing in NSW, so this investment in the State Budget will be able to give people the safety of a place to call home and also strengthen our housing system overall.

“Today’s announcement of $5.1 billion to deliver 8,400 new or redeveloped public homes over the next four years is the largest investment in social housing in NSW history – we have not seen an investment in housing, of this scale, since the aftermath of the Second World War,” said Ms Saiz.

As part of the 8,400 social homes, 6,200 will be new and 2,200 redeveloped homes; 50% of the new homes built will be prioritised for victim-survivors of domestic and family violence, while an additional 500 new rental homes will be constructed for key workers.

An additional $1 billion has also been allocated to conduct maintenance repairs to 33,500 social homes.

The $527.6 million investment in Specialist Homelessness Services, including $260 million for crisis accommodation and $250 million to support people at risk of homelessness, will place the Society in a better position to respond to increasing need.

The Society’s homelessness and housing services have supported more than 7,000 people this financial year. The average length of time to achieve a housing outcome has increased by 177% over the past five years to 186 days, while the number of unassisted requests for support has surged to nearly 2,900, increasing by 180% from three years ago.

An investment of $245.6 million over four years to bolster the government’s domestic violence responses, which includes increasing crisis response services to support victim-survivors, is welcomed given the increasing demand for the Society’s services. The Society has supported more than 1,800 people through its domestic and family violence refuges this year, while there has been an 83% increase in unassisted requests, leaving close to 400 people without safety in their time of need.

“Our members alone have supported 94,000 people across the state this financial year – surpassing last year’s total by 7 per cent – with more than $12 million in financial and material assistance,” said Ms Saiz.

“We welcome this budget as a positive step towards addressing hardship and disadvantage and look forward to working alongside the NSW Government,” said Ms Saiz.

The Society also welcomes the additional $8.4 million for the Rental Commissioner to develop and enforce renter protections along with expanded energy rebates for low-income earners to address cost of living pressures for households.