Affordable Housing

Ms PRATT (Frome) (14:10): My question is to the Minister for Human Services. What is the minister doing to assist people who are struggling to secure or retain rental housing? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Ms PRATT: CoreLogic reported on Tuesday that Adelaide has slipped down the rental affordability rankings, with a typical property rent increasing by 4.9 per cent for the quarter to $492 per week. Further, it was reported yesterday that more than 1,100 homes in South Australia have been removed from the National Rental Affordability Scheme.

The Hon. N.F. COOK (Hurtle Vale—Minister for Human Services) (14:10): It's almost like a government question again really, isn't it? I am really happy to address a few things in this area. The South Australian Housing Authority provides rental assistance to access some rent in advance as well as bond for people who need it when trying to access private rental properties, as well as people in Housing SA actually providing real support for people who need assistance to access private rental tenancies.

In relation to the national figures that came out, the number of private houses in South Australia that are empty is around 84,000—I think was the figure—representing around about 10 per cent of properties in South Australia that are empty. The government's responsibility in terms of maintaining public housing is to turn over public housing for rental as quickly as it possibly can. At any given time, we know there are a small number of public houses that will need to be vacant in order to have maintenance done in between tenancies. Currently, there are 400 fewer of those empty properties than there were earlier this year.

The performance in terms of turning over properties has actually improved quite significantly. That's really pleasing because, given the current crisis with people who are struggling to access and maintain properties in terms of accommodation, I think that is what we need to see. This performance has improved significantly. We will continue to monitor that, indeed, providing support for people with private rental property.