Goal: Delivering integrated social housing to low-income households for the duration of their need

Social housing is housing funded or subsidised by the Queensland Government to assist households who are unable to access or retain affordable or appropriate housing in the private housing market.

The Department of Housing owns and manages accommodation for low-income clients needing long-term housing. The department also provides grants to registered community and local government housing providers (including housing companies) to construct, manage and lease accommodation for clients with a short, medium or long-term housing need. In addition, the department works with funded housing providers to achieve administrative and service delivery efficiencies to improve the quality and scope of services to clients.

In response to the high demand for social housing, the department has been introducing a number of significant changes to the State's social housing system to provide better integration of housing assistance services and better manage limited housing resources available by ensuring they are allocated to people with the highest need for the duration of their need.

Improving coordination across the range of housing programs under one social housing system

As a result of the changes that are taking place, all housing assistance delivered or funded by the Queensland Government is planned to be provided through a more client-focused and integrated social housing system.

Consequently, the community and local government-managed housing sector performs an important role in the social housing system in Queensland, one that the department recognises as it continues to work with providers to achieve a diverse and sustainable service delivery system.

To simplify access to social housing for applicants and eliminate duplication, the department, community organisations funded under the Long Term Community Housing Program, and the Brisbane Housing Company merged their wait lists from 1 August 2007 into a combined wait list for social housing. For applicants, this means they only have to apply once through a single application process for housing assistance provided by these organisations.

Improving access to social housing for clients with the highest need

An increasing number of people seeking housing assistance from the department are recognised as having complex needs as a result of having both a low income and other personal circumstances that inhibit their ability to enter, or sustain residence in, the private rental or home ownership markets. This includes for example, people with a physical or intellectual disability, people with a mental illness, people with significant health issues, a family with a child identified as being at risk, or people in need of safety following family or community violence.

To assist those with the highest need, the Department of Housing focuses on providing targeted housing assistance to match the individual needs of these clients. This will ensure the optimal use of available resources for people with the highest need and deliver value for money for the Government. In 2007-08, the department:

• completed a substantial component of key policy work and system development for a new Client Intake and Assessment Process to be introduced in September 2008. The new process involves assessing an applicant's level of housing need and determining the most appropriate form of housing assistance they can receive from the range of housing products and services funded or subsidised by the Government,
• introduced the second stage of the Ongoing Eligibility Policy which includes amendments to the eligibility criteria for households applying for long-term social housing to more accurately account for household assets, savings, income and property ownership. Under this policy, social housing tenants who have improved their circumstances and are financially able to move into the private housing market, or where any household member owns or part-owns property, are ineligible for social housing, and
• conducted extensive reviews of the existing combined wait list to assess the housing needs of all social housing applicants to ensure their ongoing eligibility and improve the targeting of services, to those in greatest need of assistance.

The Department of Housing also partners with other agencies to deliver a range of solutions for mutual clients with complex needs through initiatives such as the Responding to Homelessness initiative, Mental Health Housing with Support Strategy, Spinal Cord Injuries initiative and the Queensland Indigenous Alcohol Diversion Program.

In the third year of the Queensland Government's four-year, $235.5 million Responding to Homelessness initiative, the department expended $18.7 million in 2007-08 to:

• assist more than 240 clients in Roma House (Stage One of the Lady Bowen Complex in Spring Hill) and substantially progress the building works for Stages Two and Three of the complex, which will comprise 55 studio apartments and office space for a housing organisation. The complex will provide both ongoing accommodation and support services for people who are homeless, and transitional and longer-term accommodation options for people on low incomes,
• increase the supply of crisis and transitional accommodation through the purchase of a 12-bedroom facility for people experiencing (or at risk of experiencing) homelessness on the Gold Coast, at a cost of $2.5 million,
• deliver housing options in the event of closures of Level 3 private residential services under the Crisis Accommodation Program in the Central Coast and in North Queensland through the purchase of 11 dwellings at a cost of $3.3 million,
• provide brokerage services for homeless people at the Brisbane, Townsville, Cairns and Gold Coast Information and Referral Service Hubs through grant funding of $0.4 million to community organisations. The service hubs in Cairns and Townsville commenced operations in 2007-08,
• house people displaced by closures of Level 1 and 2 private residential services through grant funding of $1.0 million to 18 registered transitional housing providers across Queensland,
• provide advice and advocacy to over 1,500 households in accommodation covered by the Residential Services (Accommodation) Act 2002, including over 1,520 face-to-face interviews. This was made possible through grant funding totalling $0.8 million to 13 Tenant Advice and Advocacy Service (Queensland) providers,
• assist clients with a mental illness through $0.1 million in grant funding to community housing organisations to manage 21 properties, and
• complete the final stage ($5.1 million) of a $48.3 million capital works program, undertaken over three years, to purchase 100 properties and complete 54 constructions. Land which will yield an anticipated 114 dwellings was also purchased to deliver studio units.

The department, as the lead agency for the Responding to Homelessness initiative, commissioned The University of Queensland Social Research Centre to undertake a mid-term review as part of a three phase evaluation strategy. The purpose of the review was to examine implementation issues and the processes and mechanisms supporting the initiative. The final report was completed in September 2007.

Under the Mental Health Housing with Support Strategy, the department provides accommodation for clients with severe to moderate mental illness who also receive clinical and non-clinical support through partner agencies Queensland Health and Disability Services Queensland. In 2007-08, the department purchased 39 dwellings and refurbished properties purchased in previous years at a cost of $11.3 million in support of this initiative.

In addition, the department partnered with Disability Services Queensland and Queensland Health to provide housing and support options for people with a spinal cord injury who were ready to leave the Spinal Cord Injuries Unit at the Princess Alexandra Hospital. Through this initiative, those assisted were able to move towards greater independence, self-reliance and re-integration into their own communities. In 2007-08, the department:

• housed 14 people with a spinal cord injury in social rental housing,
• completed 17 dwelling modifications and commenced a further five through Home and Community Care Home Modification Services, at a cost of $0.9 million,
• completed the construction of 24 units of accommodation, commenced construction of a further 24 units of accommodation and purchased seven units of accommodation for social rental housing, at a cost of $9.3 million, and
• purchased land sites potentially yielding 72 units of social housing accommodation, at a cost of $4.5 million.

Under the whole-of-Government Queensland Indigenous Alcohol Diversion Program, the department provided grant funding of $0.3 million to community organisations to provide supported accommodation in each of the pilot locations of Cairns, Townsville and Rockhampton. The aim of the program is to break the alcohol-crime cycle by diverting Indigenous defendants in treatment and case management programs from the criminal justice system. The Department of Child Safety also refers Indigenous parents whose alcohol misuse impacts on their ability to protect their child from harm.

Providing easier to access entry points for housing assistance

Clients expect to be able to access services through a range of convenient methods at times and locations of their choice.

The department is developing a pilot Rural Housing Service Centre, which will provide social housing through community and local government-managed providers. It is proposed that in the future these types of centres will act as single points of entry to the social housing system, allowing people with a housing need in rural areas to access a local 'one stop shop' for social housing assistance.

Rural Housing Service Centres will deliver a more responsive and coordinated service to people in housing need than is possible through existing services provided by a number of separate organisations which are often located at a great distance from clients. Coordinating the management of social housing dwellings through one centre will also improve the use of dwellings by better matching the available housing to those in greatest need.

In 2007-08, the department prepared a draft prospectus detailing the proposed operations of the Centre and a financial analysis report providing an indication of its financial viability using two alternative models. Several organisations expressed an interest in piloting the centre and the department is working with these organisations to progress the pilot.

New and emerging technologies are facilitating such opportunities and government, community and private sector organisations are increasingly incorporating the use of such technology into their business practices. In 2007-08, the department also continued to work with Smart Service Queensland as the primary vehicle for the transformation of service delivery, to make Queensland Government services more accessible, efficient and convenient for the public and to reduce the cost of the delivery of services via a range of integrated channels.

Increasing the supply of social housing

The proportion of social housing in Queensland has remained relatively stable over the past decade at around 4% of all residential dwellings. Queensland's rapid growth in both population and house prices, increasing rents and the resources boom is placing pressure on the housing market to maintain the supply of affordable housing. Likewise, these market conditions are continuing to place increasing pressure on scarce social housing.

In response, the Queensland Government is investing an additional $500 million over five years, from 2007-08, from the Queensland Future Growth Fund to accelerate the expansion of Queensland's social housing asset base.

During 2007-08, the department increased its social housing stock to 65,456 rental units by expending $263.3 million (incorporating $85 million from the Queensland Future Growth Fund) which included:

• investing $235.4 million in department-owned social housing by:
  • completing the construction of 411 dwellings, including seven shelters,
  • purchasing 455 dwellings (including 46 dwellings outside of Indigenous communities to assist Indigenous households who wish to relocate),
  • commencing construction of 574 dwellings, including four shelters and one hostel, and
  • purchasing land to facilitate future construction of approximately 548 dwellings
• providing grants to community organisations for the provision and management of social housing to:
  • ccomplete the construction of one shelter and 15 dwellings, and commence the construction of up to 35 units of accommodation, at a cost of $3.8 million,
  • complete construction of 24 dwellings, replace 32 dwellings and commence the construction of 69 dwellings, eight factory-built dwellings and eight replacement dwellings, under the Housing Improvement Program, for the 34 Indigenous communities,
  • enable community organisations to lease and manage 1,860 properties from the private rental market,
  • increase social housing on the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast. The Brisbane YMCA Youth Services Inc. received $0.8 million to progress the construction of 52 units of accommodation on the Gold Coast. Churches of Christ Care received $1.2 million to progress the construction of 35 units of accommodation on the Sunshine Coast,
  • increase social housing provided by the Brisbane Housing Company, at a cost of $5 million. The Company completed the construction of an additional 16 dwellings, bringing its portfolio to a total of 596 dwellings,
  • commence work on gaining development approval for a minimum of 26 units at Palm Beach on department-owned land by the Gold Coast Housing Company with a payment of $0.9 million, and
  • pilot the department's Rent Start program to lease from the private market, and manage, up to 45 dwellings on the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast and up to 25 dwellings in Cairns and Townsville, at a cost of $1 million.

Consolidating service delivery arrangements for community and local government-managed housing

The department is encouraging community and local government-managed housing organisations to manage larger portfolios, and achieve stronger client outcomes and greater efficiencies in delivering their services within the housing system. There are approximately 400 funded community and local government-managed providers of housing and housing-related services in Queensland. The realisation of one social housing system presents an opportunity for existing organisations to continue to improve the quality and scope of their services to clients, as well as achieve administrative and service delivery efficiencies.

In 2007-08, the department released a discussion paper, 'A new resourcing framework to support community housing participation in one social housing system', to seek feedback on a set of proposed resourcing arrangements for housing providers and on improving integration and coordination across the broader social housing system. Responses provided a valuable range of perspectives that contributed to the refinement of the department's draft proposals outlined in the discussion paper.

A paper titled Strengthening social housing: A strategy to build capacity of not-for-profit housing providers in Queensland (PDF, 334 KB) was also released describing future plans for strengthening not-for-profit housing in Queensland. The department is assisting with the repositioning of community housing organisations in Queensland so they can operate at a much greater scale and develop their capacity to maximise opportunities for new affordable housing investment.

In 2007-08, the department also:

• developed and trialled consolidation tools, templates and a process flow to support management committees and staff with information about the steps and processes involved in amalgamations and mergers of community housing organisations,
• provided a grant of $90,000 to assist Better Housing Projects (Brisbane), Cabbage Tree Housing Service and Redback Housing Association to consolidate to form a new housing company, BRIC Housing. The company was registered under the Housing Act 2003 on 26 February 2008 and is managing tenancies and housing in the department's Brisbane North and the Moreton Bay regions,
• assisted the Whitsunday Housing Association to restructure to a public company, Whitsunday Housing Company, limited by a guarantee to provide a mature and robust framework for growing their social and affordable housing business in keeping with one social housing system. The department has approved in-principle funding of $3.2 million for the company to construct 30 units of affordable housing at Airlie Beach,
• finalised the payment of a viability grant of $60,500 for the Sunshine Coast Regional Housing Council to restructure from an incorporated association to a company, Sunshine Coast Housing Company Ltd. This grant will also allow the company to position itself as a vehicle for consolidation of existing service delivery and for growing social and affordable housing supply on the Sunshine Coast,
• supported the establishment of new housing companies:
  • a grant of $120,000 was approved for Inner Western Suburbs Housing Collective to auspice a project for the consolidation of seven cooperatives based in South-East Queensland. Payments totalling $40,000 were made in 2007-08,
  • Access Community Housing Company received a grant of $25,000 to develop a business plan to explore options for the expansion of affordable and social housing in the Cairns region, and
  • assistance for business plan development, totalling $25,000, has been provided to organisations on the Gold Coast and in Cairns
• supported the Framework for National Action on Affordable Housing which aims to develop not-for-profit organisations that aspire to operate on a significantly increased scale.

Implementing the performance management framework for registered providers

The department is developing and implementing a performance management framework to facilitate continual improvement of providers and monitor the compliance of community housing providers registered under the Housing Act 2003. All registered providers must meet a range of obligations including:

• the relevant obligations contained in the Housing Act 2003 , such as complying with the prescribed requirements in the Housing Regulation 2003,
• the prescribed requirements in Part 2 of the Housing Regulation 2003, which cover financial management and accountability, governance, service delivery, tenancy and property matters, and reporting, and
• the obligations set out in assistance agreements which can be leases, capital agreements and agreements for recurrent funding which include program specifications.

The framework will enable a greater consistency of response by the department to alleged and actual breaches by registered providers and will achieve a more efficient use of resources by matching the level of compliance monitoring to the level of assessed risk.

To implement the framework, in 2007-08, the department developed a range of tools to undertake service reviews of community housing providers. These tools provide a guide for determining the level and frequency of review required for each provider, and for reporting and monitoring findings. The tools are:

• a risk assessment model, which determines the priority schedule for reviewing organisations,
• a desk-top service review, which provides the scope and extent of the audit review to be undertaken, and
• a decision model, which provides information to guide auditors to ensure consistent decisions and responses to non-compliant issues.

Documentation to support the reviews was also developed, including an annual provider review plan, a risk assessment matrix, and templates for an audit plan and improvement plan. The tools and documentation were trialled with three community housing providers to enable their refinement.

Full implementation of the outcomes of the reviews is scheduled to commence in late 2008.

Compliance with the regulatory framework and contractual obligations is a prerequisite for providers seeking accreditation against the National Community Housing Standards. The following types of providers are required to obtain accreditation:

• affordable housing providers, such as the Brisbane Housing Company and the Gold Coast Housing Company,
• long-term community housing providers managing more than 100 tenancies,
• Community-managed Housing–Studio Units providers, and
• Community Rent Scheme providers.

A total of 29 organisations are subject to mandatory accreditation requirements. Six are accredited of which four are long-term providers managing more than 100 tenancies, and seven are scheduled for accreditation in late 2008. The remaining organisations are undertaking the accreditation process, and evaluation dates in 2009 have been negotiated with the majority of these organisations.

Enhancing the delivery of housing assistance in Indigenous communities

Through its Housing Improvement Program, the department has been assisting Indigenous councils to provide their housing services, including asset management (maintenance, upgrades and constructions) and tenancy management functions. In 2007-08, the department:

• expended $76.8 million through its Housing Improvement Program to:
  • complete construction of 24 dwellings commenced in 2007-08 or previous years, replace 32 dwellings and perform 272 upgrades to dwellings,
  • commence construction of 69 dwellings, eight factory-built dwellings, eight replacement dwellings and begin upgrade work on 158 dwellings,
  • purchase 46 dwellings outside of Indigenous communities,
  • maintain approximately 4,092 dwellings, and
  • support Indigenous councils by providing advice, tools and training in asset and tenancy management
• developed Housing Improvement Plans with each council to identify strategies to improve housing service delivery. A total of 14 of the completed plans are with the councils for signature.

A specific performance management framework has been established by the department to monitor and assess the performance of providers under the Housing Improvement Program. The framework includes the:

• implementation of performance benchmarks linked to funding under the Housing Improvement Program for Indigenous councils as registered providers,
• implementation of a performance and compliance management framework for councils funded under the Housing Improvement Program, and
• inclusion of performance and compliance issues in the Housing Improvement Plans developed for 34 remote Indigenous communities.

The department's implementation of the framework under this program has resulted in:

• a reduction in the carryover of grant funding through the implementation of compliance action to ensure required timeframes for capital works delivery were met,
• improved reporting by councils funded under this program regarding detailed housing performance, and
• an increase in rent collection rates.

Also in 2007-08, the department:

• undertook health and safety repairs to 318 dwellings and completed 5,748 high priority work orders for electrical, plumbing, general maintenance and gas works at Kowanyama and Pormpuraaw, and conducted feasibility reports for Boigu Island and Hammond Island under the Australian Government's program Fixing Houses for Better Health,
• continued to negotiate options for long-term service delivery for five hostels divested from the former Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Policy, including:
  • obtained agreement from the Aboriginal Land Trust to demolish the Aitkenvale Hostel in Townsville due to its poor condition, with alternative accommodation acquired to maintain the level of accommodation for Indigenous people in Townsville,
  • negotiated the hand-over of ownership of the vacant Alluna Hostel in Cairns to the Alluna Land Trust,
  • sold the vacant hostel on Thursday Island to Queensland Health with the adjoining land being retained for future social housing,
  • continued to provide hostel services in Brisbane to Indigenous people with operational funding provided by Aboriginal Hostels Ltd, and
  • completed upgrades to seven dwellings at Wulliberri Reserve, Mt Isa. The properties are being used by the Department of Communities as transitional housing for Indigenous people exiting the adjoining Jimaylya Topsy Harry Hostel
• continued to provide tenancy management for four communities which cover approximately 400 rental units. Collection rates in the four communities have increased, resulting in a subsequent increase of 20% of monthly rental payments collected over the past 12 months,
• signed an agreement with an additional council for the department to manage its tenancies for approximately 180 rental units,
• commissioned external researchers to identify and analyse issues relating to housing demand and supply, land availability and town planning arrangements on Thursday Island and surrounding islands in response to representations from community organisations on Thursday Island. The Queensland Government is responding to all recommendations, either by leading the response or supporting the Torres Shire Council to address the issues for which the Council has primary responsibility, and
• worked collaboratively with other Queensland Government agencies and the Torres Shire Council to manage social housing on Thursday Island by:
  • developing new land use plans which identify land for future sustainable development,
  • assisting in providing opportunities to increase home ownership, access to private rental housing, significant commercial development and community infrastructure in the region, and
  • providing more adequate and safer housing to Government employees.

Measuring our performance

Increase in social housing

Social housing includes Department of Housing-owned, departmentally funded or privately-owned dwellings managed by not-for-profit community organisations. The department increased social housing dwellings in Queensland by 1.5% in 2007-08.

A breakdown of social housing rental units is provided below by output.

Social housing rental units	Actual			Target
	2005–06	2006–07	2007–08	2007–08
Total	62,967	64,482	65,456	65,382
Percentage of annual change	1.6%	2.4%	1.5%
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Housing *	6,945	7,164	7,143	7,243
Public Rental Housing	49,093	49,619	50,162	50,008
Community Housing	6,557	7,124	7,555	7,153
Private Housing (Brisbane Housing Company) #	372	575	596	978

Source: SAP.
Measure: Key measure from the department's Strategic Plan 2007-2012.

^* The number of rental units recorded under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Housing output decreased as a result of the rectification of inconsistent data. The data was verified following information collected in the Property Conditions Audit and Tenant Survey. In addition, there is limited availability of suitable contractors in remote locations, which results in delays in construction.

^# The Brisbane Housing Company experienced delays with development approvals. The constructions have been carried over to 2008-09.

Households waiting for social housing

The department's housing wait list has declined over the past three years due to work being progressed to reduce duplication and simplify access for applicants to social housing. Previously, applicants had to complete a different application form for each of the types of social housing provided by government or government-funded organisations that they wanted to apply for.

From January 2006, the department merged its wait list for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Housing and Public Housing rental programs. By 30 July 2007, the majority of Long Term Community Housing Program providers and the Brisbane Housing Company had transitioned their existing wait listed applicants to the combined wait list.

Applications on the wait list	Actual			Target
	2005–06 *	2006–07 #	2007–08	2007–08
Combined wait list	35,038	34,592	32,519	36,000 †
Combined wait list – Indigenous applicants	3,960	3,550	3,476	3,400 †

Source: SAP.
Measure: Output measure from the Ministerial Portfolio Statement 2007-08.

^* From 1 January 2006, all applications on the common wait list for departmentally-managed housing are considered for allocation to Public Rental Housing. In addition, the Indigenous applications are also considered for allocation to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Rental Program.

^# From 1 August 2007, the department began managing applications previously kept separately on community and local government housing providers' wait lists for the Long Term Community Housing Program and Brisbane Housing Company.

^† The target was based on an increase in applicants due to the merging of wait lists from community housing providers of the Long Term Community Housing Program and the Brisbane Housing Company. An increase of potential applicants being forced out of the tightening private housing market was anticipated.

From late 2008, this combined wait list will be replaced with a housing register, which will be segmented based on applicants' level of housing need.

Average waiting times for applicants to be allocated social housing

The average waiting time for applicants to be allocated social housing decreased in 2007-08.

Average wait time (years)	Actual			Target
	2005–06	2006–07	2007–08	2008 *
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Housing Rental Program	1.7	1.9	1.7	1.9
Public Rental Housing	2.4	2.5	2.1	2.8

Source: SAP.
Measure: Output measure from the Ministerial Portfolio Statement 2007-08.

^* The department was expecting an increase in wait times as clients are remaining longer in social housing due to the tightening private market which is reducing the department's ability to offer housing to new clients.

Households accessing social housing

The department and funded community housing providers provide:

• longer-term housing to assist households through Public Rental Housing, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Housing Rental Program and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Housing Community Program, Long Term Community Housing Program, and Community-managed Housing–Studio Units,
• transitional housing to assist people to stabilise their housing arrangements through the Community Rent Scheme and Same House Different Landlord scheme, and
• crisis housing accommodation to assist people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, in crisis, or in need of support in the move towards independent living through the Crisis Accommodation Program.

Clients are remaining in their social housing longer due to the economic climate of the private housing market. Consequently, this impacts on the ability of the department and community organisations to offer social housing to new tenants and the total number of households assisted overall.

The following provides the number of households assisted by output.

Households assisted into social housing	Actual			Target
	2005–06	2006–07	2007–08	2007-08
Total households assisted *	73,921	78,122	78,108	78,800
Percentage of annual change	1.7%	5.7%	0.0%	-
Total new households assisted	17,114	16,819	15,394	17,786
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Housing	269	322	314	300
Public Rental Housing	4,623	4,452	4,258	4,800
Community Housing
Long-term community housing	970	921	704	729
Transitional community housing	1,110	1,145	860	1,275
Crisis Accommodation Program	9,846	9,630	8,983	9,500
Private Housing (Brisbane Housing Company)	296	349	275	450

Source: SAP.
Measure: Key measure from the department's Strategic Plan 2007-2012 and an output measure from the Ministerial Portfolio Statement 2007-08.

^* The increase from 2005-06 to 2006-07 was primarily due to an increase in the total households assisted through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Housing Community Program.

To be eligible for housing that meets specific needs, an approved applicant's circumstances must be of a more extreme or urgent nature than other applicants waiting for housing assistance. Generally, situations which threaten a person's (or their family's) safety, security or health are regarded as the most urgent.

The Department of Housing focuses on ensuring the optimal use of available resources for people with the highest need, which is reflected in the results below.

Households with specific needs assisted into social housing	Actual
	2005–06	2006–07	2007–08
Total new households assisted with specific needs *	840	1,241	2,004
Percentage of new households assisted with specific needs	17.2%	26.0%	43.8%

Source: SAP.
Measure: Key measure from the departmen''s Strategic Plan 2007-2012.

^* Only includes households assisted into long-term social rental housing.

Transitional housing is provided to assist people to stabilise their housing arrangements. The following measure shows the percentage of households in transitional housing that were assisted into long-term social housing.

Transitional housing exits to social housing	Actual			Target
	2005–06	2006–07	2007–08	2007–08
Percentage of clients transitioning to department-managed social housing	26%	27%	24%	26%

Source: CRS Database.
Measure: Output measure from the Ministerial Portfolio Statement 2007-08.

Household satisfaction with social housing

The department values tenants' perspectives and obtains valuable information from tenants through the National Social Housing Survey which is conducted biennially. The last survey was conducted in 2007.

Client satisfaction with social housing	Previous result *	2005	2007	National
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Housing	-	71%	74%	63%
Public Rental Housing	74%	78%	81%	71%
Public Rental Housing - Indigenous households	63%	68%	69%	57%
Community Housing	82%	85%	79%	86%

Source: Report on Government Services 2008 and Public Housing National Social Housing Survey and Community Housing National Social Housing Survey.

Measure: Key measure from the department's Strategic Plan 2007-2012 and an output measure from the Ministerial Portfolio Statement 2007-08.

* The previous result for the Public Housing survey relates to 2002-03 and the Community Housing survey relates to 2001-02.

Registered community housing providers

The department facilitates continuous improvement of registered community housing providers and monitors their compliance under the Housing Act 2003 and Housing Regulation 2003 .

Monitoring providers of social housing	Actual	Target
	2007-08	2007-08
Number and percentage of registered providers meeting prescribed requirements under the Housing Act 2003 and Housing Regulation 2003	292 (99%)	95%
Number and percentage of planning service reviews of registered providers conducted *	3 (100%)	-
Number and percentage of all eligible providers managing over 100 tenancies that have achieved accreditation #	4 (27%)	-

Measure: Key measure from the department's Strategic Plan 2007-2012 and Ministerial Portfolio Statement 2007-08.

^* Planned service reviews for 2007-08 were trials to establish and test methodology and tools. Once the trial is complete the number of reviews may increase.

^# There are few providers that manage over 100 tenancies and the accreditation process takes up to three years.

2008-2013

The department will continue to deliver integrated social housing and housing services to low-income households for the duration of their need. Key initiatives underway to achieve this goal are to:

• improve the delivery of social housing
  • increase the supply of social housing, and
  • improve the coordination of housing services under one social housing system
• assist households with the highest need for the duration of their need,
• provide longer-term housing to assist households with the highest need
  • deliver transitional housing to assist people to stabilise their housing arrangements,
  • fund crisis accommodation to assist people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, in crisis, and in need of support in the move towards independent living, and
  • implement whole-of-Government support mechanisms to deliver services for clients with complex or critical needs
• improve the performance and viability of social housing providers
  • assist councils to improve tenancy and property management practices within Indigenous communities,
  • assist registered community housing providers to enhance the delivery of quality service to clients, and
  • encourage and support the consolidation of community-managed housing to ensure more efficient and effective service provision.

Key measures

• Total number of households assisted with social housing.
• Total annual increase of social housing dwellings.
• Percentage of social housing allocations to households with the highest need.
• Percentage of client's satisfied with social housing.
• Percentage of dwellings without overcrowding.
• Number and percentage of planned service reviews of registered providers conducted.
• Number and percentage of all eligible providers managing over 100 tenancies that have achieved accreditation.