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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-02-16 Daily Xml
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APY LANDS

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS (15:19): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question to the Minister for Social Housing on the topic of the new Housing SA rental formula for APY lands.

Leave granted.

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS: As the minister is no doubt aware, Housing SA is standardising the way community housing is managed and maintained in remote Aboriginal communities, and I understand that as a part of this process a new formula has been developed for calculating household rent for new and upgraded housing. Under this new formula the rent for each adult residing in a property is calculated separately. On the APY lands each adult living in one of the new or refurbished houses is charged a flat rate of $20 per week for the first 12 months. It then rises to 15 per cent of the adult's assessable income, and after another 12 months to 20 per cent of their assessable income.

Housing SA's rent policy includes elements designed to encourage and support workforce participation. Specifically it does not require household members who are employed to contribute more in rent than they would be required to pay if they were unemployed or in receipt of a Newstart allowance, as the rent of each working adult is capped at 20 per cent of the allowance he or she would have received if unemployed.

Unfortunately, the formula has created the following anomaly: after the first 12 months people on disability support pensions and aged pensions are paying more rent than working adults. My questions to the minister are:

1. Can the minister confirm that the formula introduced to calculate weekly rent for adults living in properties managed by Housing SA on the APY lands has seen aged and disabled adult tenants being charged more in weekly rent than working adults?

2. Can the minister explain how and when this anomaly will be addressed?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion, Minister for Social Housing, Minister for Disabilities, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers) (15:21): I thank the honourable member for her very important question, and I acknowledge her ongoing interest in those very important matters up on the APY lands. I am aware of the new rates, which the honourable member very beautifully explained to the chamber, and it has not necessitated my repeating those remarks. I am not, however, aware of any alleged anomaly between the rates of rents for housing of people on different benefits compared with those who are working and in receipt of wages, but I undertake to check on these issues with my department and bring back a response.

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