Homelessness Prevention Funding

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (15:16): My question is to the Minister for Human Services regarding homelessness. Can the minister please update the council on the homelessness prevention funding?

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (Minister for Human Services) (15:16): I thank the honourable member for her question and for her interest in this area. Indeed, the Marshall Liberal government did commit $20 million as part of a housing strategy to a homelessness prevention fund, and we were pleased to announce recently that, through a competitive tender process, we have nominated two particular projects that we think are innovative and will be very much in the prevention space. As we all know, prevention is better than cure, so we are very focused on reaching people early and assisting them before they fall into homelessness and rough sleeping situations, so that they can get back on their pathway and get on to living normal lives.

The two projects we have funded are, firstly, Kids Under Cover, their studio program, which has been operating in Victoria for, I think, over 20 years. The program is targeted at young people aged 12 to 25, who generally are living with their families, often in overcrowded situations. The young people need to be connected to existing services in order to be referred to the program and we know from experience interstate that it has greatly enhanced the relationships between those young people and their families. These may be located with extended family, so it may well be with grandparents or the like that young people will be accommodated.

The studios consist of one to two bedrooms, a bathroom and a place for them to study. We know that one of the key drivers for youth homelessness is those relationships they have in their home, and when they reach the point where they become intolerable, then young people will often seek to live somewhere else, including at times rough sleeping. We are looking forward to that commencing, hopefully on 1 July.

We have also provided funding to a consortium of the UnitingCare Wesley Bowden, Junction Australia and Kornar Winmil Yunti, an Aboriginal corporation, which is a rental support pilot project which will assist people who often struggle in the private rental market. As we know, the rental market is challenging at times.

The investors in that space, particularly in South Australia, are often mums and dads, and it is a part of their wealth strategy to have investment properties. Their concern is often that risk, so this program will assist them to perhaps have a bit more understanding of some of the people seeking rental with them and assist them to manage that process through so that they get support if they need it. So we look forward to some of the outcomes from these particular programs as part of more innovation that we want to see in this particular space.