News - Berwick - 17th April 2014

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Connecting people & communities BERWICK

Incorporating South-East Star Real Estate

Thursday, 17 April, 2014

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Berwick

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Pension politics

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April, 2014 Page

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Propertyy Lift out

BUYE

 Long wait for bigger public housing premises violates rules

Cramped up By LACHLAN MOORHEAD A BERWICK single mother in urgent need of a larger public housing property has been languishing on the priority waiting list for over three years. And she claims the Department of Human Services has broken one of its own rules by allowing her son and daughter to share a room despite both being over six years old. Sophie Ramos - whose son, Joshua, is nine years old and daughter, Natasha, seven years old - currently lives in a two- bedroom public housing apartment in Berwick where her children share a room. A DHS spokesperson confirmed this week that under departmental policy, tenants can apply for an early housing transfer under the ‘inappropriate housing’ criteria when “two children of the opposite gender have to share a bedroom where at least one child is aged six years or more”. Ms Ramos said she had requested to move to a three-bedroom unit as soon as Joshua had turned six, as she was deemed eligible. Subsequently, she had been placed on the ‘early housing’ priority list, but to no avail. “Now it’s been almost four years and it’s very frustrating, my daughter Sophie Ramos, here with her children Joshua, 9, and Natasha, 7, has been on the public housing priority waiting list for a bigger premises for doesn’t sleep,” she said. almost four years. Picture: ROB CAREW “They both constantly ask for their The report indicated that the Vic“It’s hard to discipline them; I can’t property when it becomes available,” special housing needs. Wait turn is for own room, they need their own space. torian government spent $256.8 milall eligible people on low incomes. It comes time to do their homework send one to one room and one to an- the spokesperson said. other.” Applications for public housing are Spending on social housing in Vic- lion on capital expenditure for social OVER CARS TO CHOOSE and I 200 can’tUSED put each of them in their FROM housing in 2012-2013, compared with segmented into two categories ‘early The DHS spokesperson confirmed toria in the last financial year fell by $503.8 million in 2011-12. own room at a desk.” almost half, or $247 million, while Ms Ramos said she had looked into that Ms Ramos had applied for an early housing’ and ‘wait turn’. Are you on the public housing waitEarly housing caters for people who 35,778 people were on the public ing list? Is unaffordable rent putting moving to a private rental premises but housing transfer and is “eligible for a $6,990 $7,990 $12,990 $15,990 $16,990 transfer to a larger bedroom property”. are homeless and receiving support, housing waiting list in 2013, according your family budget under strain? Let wouldn’t be able to afford it. “The department is working with people with a disability who have sig- to the Productivity Commission’s Re- us know at editor@starnewsgroup. “It’s very hard, the children have no com.au the family to transfer them to another nificant support needs and people with port on Government Services. privacy at all,” she said.

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