Remote Housing Review
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Remote Housing Review A review of the National Partnership Agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing and the Remote Housing Strategy (2008-2018) Artwork by Ashlee Burns who is a proud descendant of the Gunggandji and Kuku Djungan people. ‘The artwork was influenced strongly by the nature and land of Australia. The curved parallel lines, also known as stratum, were inspired by sedimentary layers of rock that can be found deep within the earth. All the colours used throughout are representative of the beautiful Australian landscape and the diversity of the earth found across our nation. The use of a stratum lines is meant to represent the many layers found within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history. While the blue symbolises oceans and rivers, the green, orange and the yellow represents the land. Together these elements encapsulate all the differing communities of Australia.’ Copyright Statement ________________________________________________________________________________________ Remote Housing Review: A review of the National Partnership Agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing and the Remote Housing Strategy (2008-2018) © Commonwealth of Australia 2017 ISBN 978-1-925362-68-8 Remote Housing Review: A review of the National Partnership Agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing and the Remote Housing Strategy (2008-2018) (PDF) ISBN 978-1-925362-69 Remote Housing Review: A review of the National Partnership Agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing and the Remote Housing Strategy (2008-2018) (DOCX) ISBN 978-1-925362-70-1 Remote Housing Review: A review of the National Partnership Agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing and the Remote Housing Strategy (2008-2018) Print Version Copyright Notice With the exception of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence (CC BY 4.0)( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ). Third party copyright Wherever a third party holds copyright in this material, the copyright remains with that party. Their permission may be required to use the material. Please contact them directly. Attribution This publication should be attributed as follows: © Commonwealth of Australia, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Remote Housing Review: A review of the National Partnership Agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing and the Remote Housing Strategy (2008-2018) Use of the Coat of Arms The terms under which the Coat of Arms can be used are detailed on the following website: http://www.pmc.gov.au/government/its-honour. Other uses Enquiries regarding this licence and any other use of this document are welcome at: The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet PO Box 6500 CANBERRA ACT 2600 Contents Remote Housing Review ....................................................................................................................... 2 Contents ...................................................................................................................................... 4 Executive summary ..................................................................................................................... 1 Good progress has been made against the Strategy’s objectives .................................... 1 More needs to be done to meet future demand and to protect the existing housing stock ..................................................................................................................... 2 The Review identified a number of issues in the development and implementation of the Strategy .......................................................................................................... 3 Future programs should protect recent investment, address continued need and develop better structures for design, implementation and oversight ................ 4 Assessment of jurisdictions’ performance against key objectives of the Strategy .......... 5 1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 6 1.1 Background ....................................................................................................................... 6 1.2 Policy change has been the norm ........................................................................ 8 1.3 This Review’s focus – NPARIH and the Strategy ................................................ 10 1.4 Governance of the Review ................................................................................. 13 2. Secure, quality housing is needed for Closing the Gap .................................................. 15 2.1 Health ................................................................................................................. 15 2.2 Community safety .............................................................................................. 19 2.3 Employment and education ............................................................................... 19 2.4 Housing impacts everything you’re able to do .................................................. 20 2.5 Key Findings ....................................................................................................... 21 3. Reducing overcrowding in remote Indigenous communities ......................................... 22 3.1 Significant progress has been made to reduce overcrowding........................... 22 3.2 Despite progress overcrowding persists and will worsen over the next ten years, unless further action is taken .................................................................. 23 3.3 Based on current and future demand an additional 5,500 houses are required by 2028............................................................................................................... 24 3.4 Key findings ........................................................................................................ 26 4. Increasing housing supply and improving housing conditions ....................................... 27 4.1 The Strategy has performed well overall against numeric building targets ...... 27 4.2 The substitution of replacements and refurbishments for some part of the new building target was reasonable .......................................................................... 27 4.3 With the exception of Western Australia, each continuing jurisdiction met or exceeded its original COAG targets ................................................................... 28 4.4 Preliminary analysis shows South Australia achieved best value for money .... 29 4.5 Over the course of the Strategy many lessons were learned (or re-learned) ... 30 4.6 Acceptance and defect monitoring are key processes to ensure accountability for building quality ............................................................................................. 36 4.7 The introduction of a two year competitive bids process led to undesirable, and unintended, consequences ................................................................................ 36 4.8 Local engagement, when done well, delivers better housing ........................... 37 4.9 The Strategy also built accommodation to support employment and education outside remote communities............................................................................. 38 4.10 Proper planning of land and infrastructure is essential..................................... 39 4.11 There are challenges with the availability of serviced land for the future ........ 40 4.12 Land reform was a key part of the Strategy ...................................................... 40 4.13 Home ownership has not been a big success of the Strategy ........................... 41 4.14 Key Findings ....................................................................................................... 42 5. Property and Tenancy Management .............................................................................. 44 5.1 The Strategy is the first national program to have such a substantial focus on PTM .................................................................................................................... 44 5.2 Property management is important among lessons already learned but progress has been mixed ................................................................................... 45 5.3 There are further lessons to be learned from the delivery of maintenance services under the Strategy ............................................................................... 48 5.4 Formalising tenancy agreements was a start but tenants are not clear about rights and responsibilities .................................................................................. 49 5.5 There have been positive changes to rental policy and practices but again, there is more to do ............................................................................................ 51 5.6 There is a potential role for ICHOs in the future delivery of remote Indigenous housing ............................................................................................................... 53 5.7 Key Findings ....................................................................................................... 55 6. Indigenous employment and business development outcomes .................................... 56 6.1 Jurisdictions mostly reported they met employment targets ........................... 56 6.2 The Panel found good practice examples but local people say they missed out on jobs ...............................................................................................................