Legislative Council: Tuesday, February 16, 2021

Contents

Disability Housing

The Hon. I. PNEVMATIKOS (14:56): My question is to the Minister for Human Services regarding disability housing. Out of the 33 actions in the minister's 10-year housing strategy, can the minister tell us what the one and only reference is to people with disability?

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (Minister for Human Services) (14:57): I would assume that the honourable member is referring to the accessibility standard target that we have for our new stock, which I understand to be 75 per cent. My understanding is that in practice it is often higher than that. People who work in this industry tell me that building accessible housing is much easier if you have a flat block and, because of the large number of flat blocks that the Housing Authority utilises, or if it is multistorey they are able to put lifts in and the like, so the actual number of new builds is closer to 90 per cent.