Submission on Draft Housing Tasmania Bill 2022

Housing Tasmania Bill July 2022

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About TasCOSS TasCOSS’s vision is for one Tasmania, free of poverty and inequality where everyone has the same opportunity. Our mission is two-fold: to act as the peak body for the community services industry in Tasmania; and to challenge and change the systems, attitudes and behaviours that create poverty, inequality and exclusion.

Our membership includes individuals and organisations active in the provision of community services to Tasmanians on low incomes or living in vulnerable circumstances. TasCOSS represents the interests of our members and their service users to government, regulators, the media and the public. Through our advocacy and policy development, we draw attention to the causes of poverty and disadvantage, and promote the adoption of effective solutions to address these issues.

Please direct any enquiries about this submission to: Adrienne Picone Chief Executive Officer Phone Number: (03) 6231 0755 Email Address: adrienne@tascoss.org.au

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Introduction Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the draft Housing Tasmania Bill 2022. TasCOSS and our members have a strong interest in ensuring the new housing authority is fit for purpose to address existing and emerging housing issues for all Tasmanians, across the whole housing system. Our particular focus is in ensuing the new authority is designed to support those Tasmanians who need assistance with housing – these are some of the most vulnerable people in our community. Their needs must be reflected in the Bill’s Objectives and Functions.

Safe, adequate, affordable and appropriate housing is a universal human right and is broadly recognised as being critical to health, wellbeing, and social and economic security.1 Housing is therefore one of the key social determinants of health, with the corollary being that insecure, poor-quality, or unaffordable housing contributes to social exclusion, poverty and instability.2 Addressing people’s housing needs must be a priority of human rights-focused government and society.

In hundreds of conversations with Tasmanians, TasCOSS heard that ‘having a place to call home’ was central to what makes a good life in Tasmania. But they are telling us it it’s harder than ever to find and keep a home, which is backed up by the data on housing affordability and supply.3 Our suggestions about how the Bill could be strengthened to address some of these issues are addressed below.

Key Issues The Powers and Functions of the new housing authority 1. Include in the Objectives of the new housing authority: • Reducing homelessness • Reducing housing stress • Improving access to housing, assistance, and support for Tasmanians on low incomes 2. Core Functions of the Authority are to: • Support and fund the delivery of social and affordable housing • Conduct research and develop strategic housing and homelessness policy • Manage social housing, specialist homelessness services and home ownership assistance programs • Build the capacity of the housing and homelessness sector • Maintain the commitment to consultation with the housing and homelessness services, including tenants and service users

1

AHURI, A conceptual analysis of social housing as infrastructure, February 2019, https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2019/02/apo-nid218206-1282486.pdf p. 1.

2 Ibid., pp. 7-8.

3 See for example AIHW Housing Data Dashboard | Housing data and Tasmanian-Housing-Update_vFinal.pdf (utas.edu.au)

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3. The activities of the new Housing Tasmania need to refer specifically to social housing and homelessness services, where it is relevant, to make sure the full range of services are included.

For example, the current draft Bill S11 (1) (page 28) states “…to conduct research and provide policy advice related to the provision of housing”. This research and policy advice function needs to include the topics of social housing and homelessness. The clause could read “…research and policy advice related to social housing, homelessness, and housing assistance, as well as the Tasmanian housing market.”

4. The essential nature of housing and support for Tasmanians on low incomes needs to be clearly stated. The private market is failing to deliver safe, secure, affordable and appropriate homes, and the authority’s function of supporting these vulnerable people needs to be clearly stated in the Act. 5. The Department of Communities currently recognises the need for specialist capacity building and workforce development for the housing and homelessness sector, which delivers a quality professional service and best practice outcomes for tenants and service users. Funding for these activities needs to be continued. Examples are the regular Specialist Homelessness Services Forums and specialist workforce training, currently facilitated by Shelter Tas. Targeted capacity building and workforce development need to be included in the functions of the Bill to ensure these activities continue to strengthen the essential and specialist work of the sector.

6. The important functions of advocacy, community education, sector-wide consultation and policy work are currently delivered by Shelter Tas and the Tenants’ Union of Tasmania, and funded by Communities Tasmania. This work significantly improves outcomes for services and the people who need them, and also need to be clearly listed in the scope of the new Housing Tasmania.

7. We recommend that the Act governing the new Housing Tasmania ensures that consumers and tenants are protected under the Residential Tenancy Act 1997, and that the Government undertakes a review of the Act to ensure it is contemporary and fit-for-purpose.

The Minister’s Statement of Expectations The Minister’s Statement of Expectations is an essential guide to the Board and the Organisation. It needs to specify the desired direction and outcomes of the new Housing Tasmania.

1. We support an ambitious target of an increase to the supply of social housing from the current level of 6.2% to 10% of all Tasmanian dwellings.

2. We call for the new Housing Tasmania to have a clear mandate to deliver energy efficient and environmentally friendly homes, and to contribute to a carbon-neutral (and carbon negative) environment for Tasmania. High quality energy efficient buildings will both make homes more liveable and affordable, and will reduce maintenance costs in the long run.

3. The skills appropriate to provide Board level guidance and governance on housing and homelessness services need to be specifically described (Section 14). The current reference to

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‘skills and experience in community development or welfare’ (Section 14 (2) (c) is too general, and could be consistent with a Board lacking any expertise and experience in homelessness services, housing support or tenancy management for tenants experiencing vulnerability and on very low incomes (Section 14 (1)).

4. The number of Board members in the draft Bill (4-6 including the Chair) appears insufficient given the broad remit of the new Housing Tasmania. The Board could include skills such as: finance; legal; construction; residential development; household energy efficiency; and organisational management. The Board must also retain the necessary experience in homelessness services, not-for-profit housing, tenancy management and supporting vulnerable and very low income households. A Board of four members including the Chair as permitted by the draft Bill could not cover these areas. We therefore believe a Board of 6-8 members will be needed.

Other powers 5. TasCOSS would support the new housing authority to have the power to safeguard public assets and ensure that they remain used for public good and for relieving housing stress in the rental market. An ability to register titles of publicly subsidised properties so that they are retained for residential use (not, for example, converted to short stay holiday accommodation) is an essential safeguard.

Conclusion We have a unique opportunity to build into the new statutory authority objectives, powers, and functions that support measures that address critical failings of the housing market, particularly in affordability and supply. We urge the Tasmanian Government to embrace this opportunity so that every Tasmanian, no matter what their age or ability or where they live and in what circumstances, has a place to call home.

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