The Housing and Homelessness Ministerial Council will meet today to discuss the Commonwealth’s contribution to the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement.
Ministers from the Commonwealth and all States and Territories will press their case for an increase in Commonwealth funding to support building more social housing and bolstering support for homelessness services who are facing unprecedented demand.
Our state is grappling with a housing and homelessness crisis. Every part of our housing system is under pressure and every lever must be pulled to meaningfully address the crisis.
The NSW Government stands ready to work with the Commonwealth as an equal partner but funding trends over the last 10 years need to be turned around if that hope is to become a reality.
Commonwealth funding has fallen from 0.52% ($2.08 billion) of the 2013-14 Commonwealth Budget ($398.3 billion) to be only 0.28% ($1.9 billion) of the 2023-24 Commonwealth Budget ($684.1 billion).
To retain the same relative share of the Commonwealth Budget as 2013-14 for 2023-24, that would require a 90% increase on the 2023-24 allocation.
Recent investments in social housing from the Commonwealth Government are a welcome start to help confront the housing crisis, but the job is far from done.
NSW Minister for Housing and Homelessness, Rose Jackson, will attend to advocate for more Commonwealth funding and resources to help NSW address the housing crisis and work toward the National Housing Accord target.
Last month, the Productivity Commission reported that Sydney was at risk of becoming a city with no grandchildren, whilst an analysis by Homelessness NSW showed that homelessness has risen across 58 of the state’s 128 local government areas in the past year alone.
The face of homelessness is changing. We have people with jobs, long rental histories, and no previous history of homelessness unable to get access housing. This is the harsh reality that thousands of people across NSW are experiencing right now.
More people are facing a disproportionate amount of housing stress. Thousands of people across the state are grappling with the reality of being locked out of the housing market. Not only unable to buy their first home, but also struggling to secure or sustain a rental.
The NSW Government reaffirms its commitment to deliver more and better homes and increasing access to comprehensive housing and homelessness support services as a core priority.
Minister for Housing and Homelessness Rose Jackson said:
“Since December we have seen a steady increase in people needing help to secure a safe home. There are more than 57,000 people currently on the social housing waitlist. We need to drive this number down by getting the delivery numbers up.
“Every report, every analysis, and each statistic say the exact same thing – NSW is grappling with a housing crisis. People are being priced out of their community, unable to live near their jobs or struggling to even secure a roof over their head.
“Access to housing is a basic need. I will continue to fiercely advocate for our fair share of Commonwealth funding programs. We need immediate action and bold reform to support the people of NSW.
“The best way to reduce homelessness is by building houses. But building houses takes time. NSW has a large number of people who are homeless or on the brink of homelessness. We need funding to help those people.”
