Public Housing

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (14:39): My question is to the Minister for Human Services regarding housing. Can the minister please update the council about how the Marshall Liberal government is working with community housing providers to improve housing outcomes for South Australians?

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (Minister for Human Services) (14:39): I thank the honourable member for her question. Last week, it was my great privilege to attend a launch of a UnitingSA Housing project at Ferryden Park. In attendance we had the Leader of the Opposition, as I understand it is in his electorate. UnitingSA is chaired by Ms Gael Fraser, and Jenny Hall is their recently installed CEO.

I should say actually at the outset that UnitingSA Housing was first registered as a tier 2 community housing provider under the national regulatory scheme for community housing in 2014. UnitingSA Housing has 351 properties under a Master Community Housing Agreement, and a further 11 leased properties. UnitingSA Housing support almost 15,000 people every year across regional and metropolitan South Australia through the many services that they offer.

Some of the cohorts that they provide services to include older people, youth and families, people facing mental health issues and/or disability, and those from culturally diverse backgrounds. They assist a number of people to find long-term affordable housing with appropriate supports in place.

In November 2019, an invitation was issued from the SA Housing Authority for expressions of interest in a program called MATCH (More Affordable Tenancies in Community Housing), particularly tier 2 organisations. From this process, a grant of $1 million was provided to UnitingSA Housing for the project, which overall is $16.6 million and has involved constructing six two-bedroom single-storey social housing dwellings and two two-bedroom single-storey affordable dwellings on vacant land.

The story behind the land was quite special because the site is actually the former Days Road Gospel Mission. Mission members had spent many years advocating for the land to be gifted to UnitingSA. Judy Bynoe from the mission worked tirelessly with UnitingSA minister Les Underwood to ensure that the land could be gifted to UnitingSA, including having to take the issue to the Supreme Court, where it was ruled the land could be gifted to UnitingSA.

It was my great privilege to meet some of the new tenants who have some stories that would be familiar to many people who have worked with people in this space in that there are often relationship breakdowns, particularly for older women, for whom these houses are intended. A number of those tenants are now getting on with their lives and are very happily there, which is a beautiful space and a fantastic project, so congratulations to everybody who was involved.