The 1960s to 1980s: Queensland ’s changing needs

During the next three decades, the Queensland Housing Commission was faced with a changing Queensland population.

With changes to the Family Law Act introducing no-fault divorce, the 1970s saw movement away from the nuclear family with a growing number of single parent households. An increasing number of households comprised people living alone, older people or people with a disability, all with special housing needs which had to be considered.

To meet changing client demand, especially from older Queenslanders, the Commission branched out from large estate developments to unit blocks and attached houses. Unfortunately, this multiple dwelling approach to public housing attracted criticism.

The high concentration of people facing social and economic disadvantage created negative public perceptions, and the designs of most unit blocks and the imposing size of some of the larger blocks did not improve the aesthetic or community appeal of public housing. The Commission also rarely consulted with the broader community on its developments.

From 1983, people who could not afford to pay a full bond to secure accommodation in the private rental market were offered financial assistance, a move which recognised the need to develop innovative solutions to housing situations that alleviated pressure on public housing.

In 1984, Queensland received a Commonwealth Government funding boost to develop the Community Housing sector in Queensland. Partnerships were developed with not-for-profit organisations and local governments to provide community-based housing assistance including crisis, transitional and long-term rental housing. Community Housing was recognised as an essential component of the social housing system and signalled a turning point in the structure of housing provision in Queensland.

In late 1989, the Department of Housing and Local Government was formed. While the Commission would continue to exist as a legal entity for almost another 15 years, the creation of the department saw the emergence of a whole new philosophy of service provision and a range of activities that are still being pursued today.

It was a turning point in how the Commission's activities were referred to, and represented a conscious move to distance itself from the negative public perceptions that had become closely associated with the Commission's name.

During the next nine years, the department experienced a number of administrative changes and was known successively as the Department of Housing, Local Government and Planning, the Department of Public Works and Housing, and the Department of Housing.