In the lead up to the State Budget on June 15, the Community Housing Industry Association of South Australia (CHIA SA) highlighted the urgent need to prioritise funding on affordable housing strategies that have immediate and more long-term impacts for South Australians facing housing and rental stress.
CHIA SA CEO Luke Westenberg said the State Government’s recent policy responses to housing affordability, including planned public housing investment, were strongly supported and that greater collaboration with Community Housing Providers (CHPs) needed to continue make sure no-one was left behind.
Part of CHIA SA’s pre-budget call was for a $150 million innovation fund to support the state’s CHPs to implement innovative solutions to growing housing need.
“CHIA SA welcomes the State Government’s policy responses to housing affordability to date and supports the growth of public housing,” said Mr Westenberg.
“We strongly believe greater investment in social and affordable housing is critical to supporting the state’s public housing investment if we are to effectively meet current and projected unmet housing needs in SA,” he said.
“CHIA (national) and CHIA SA’s recent ‘Snapshot of Regional Housing Need’ found that by 2041, nearly 51,000 South Australian households are projected to experience unmet housing need. To address this unmet need, we will require an additional 2300-3000 houses annually over the next 20 years.
“To do this, we need to work together, forming strong partnerships early on to capitalise on the HAFF (Housing Affordability Future Fund) and the Housing Accord and ensure South Australians in need do not miss out on stable and secure housing to support quality of life, choice, and contribution to society.”
CHIA SA submitted a Pre-Budget Submission to SA Minister for Housing and Urban Development Nick Champion and SA Minister for Human Services Nat Cook earlier this year.
In the submission, CHIA SA (formerly the Community Housing Council of SA, or CHCSA) called for:
- increased funding for CHPs to boost accommodation supply for people with disability who are not eligible for Specialist Disability Accommodation under the National Disability Insurance Scheme,
- supporting accelerated growth of affordable housing by CHPs through land release and asset transfer,
- building greater partnerships with CHPs to create more affordable housing stock that works with and compliments public housing growth,
- streamlining administrative, planning and procurement processes in delivering housing projects,
- working more closely, and early on, with the community housing sector in responding to the Australian Government’s Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) to ensure the best outcomes for SA,
- working with CHPs to meet the targets of the Australian Government’s Housing Accord through land release and capital contributions to ensure more housing supports people in need.
To read the full CHIA SA (formerly CHCSA) Budget 2023-24 Submission.
