Queensland Government planning reforms to benefit Community Housing Providers

Here are the the three key planning changes CHPs need to be across.

These amendments further contribute to addressing the current housing affordability and supply challenges that communities are facing across Queensland.

Click each link below to read the details:

Changes to regulation of rooming accommodation, dwellings houses and zone purpose statements

 

Changes to emergency housing regulations and infrastructure designation pathway for social and affordable housing

 

Changes to secondary dwellings

 

Click the article button below to read more about planning issues and interests.

Shared Equity Schemes for Older Women in Queensland – Gold Star Project

The Gold Star Project is aimed at stimulating the development of innovative financial products that would enable people of limited means to achieve housing security through building equity in their home. The focus is on shared equity products that can be accessed by women who are unable to access commercially provided standard home loans. The cohort of particular concern is women over 55 years living in Queensland given the rising numbers experiencing financial stress and at risk of homelessness. The economics of housing for single older women are particularly challenging, for reasons outlined below, so inclusion of other cohorts may have to be considered to improve scheme viability.

Housing policy is enhanced through the recognition of the importance of housing for human welfare and the severe detrimental effects of homelessness. The benefits of housing go well beyond physical shelter – the Australian Centre for Social Impact has distilled the three critical functions of home as acquiring agency, connection with others and expression of identity.1

The gulf between renting and home ownership is enormous and the number and diversity of people occupying this space are growing. Beyond the current focus in the policy debate on supply and affordability of housing, greater diversity of options is needed when it comes to buildings, financing, tenure and ownership types to reflect the diversity of the population. Innovation is needed that places people rather than buildings at the heart of the process to provide greater diversity of options. Shared equity has an important role to play in enabling innovation, allowing people to move from insecure rental to homeownership, and unlocking the benefits of secure housing for a diverse group.

Applications for the 2022 Deirdre Coghlan Professional Development Bursary have now opened!

In 2016, one of Q Shelter’s founders and lifelong members, Deirdre Coghlan, passed away. In honour of her memory, Q Shelter established a bursary to help those in the housing and homelessness sector access professional development they might otherwise miss out on.

“Each year Q Shelter provides up to $5,000 in bursary payments to applicants.

Usually, this amount has been split amongst several applications. Q Shelter has distributed $25,000 in bursary payments since 2017.

Deirdre firmly believed that housing was a human right and was passionate about helping those in the sector gain skills in:

→ Community development

→  Advocacy

→ Grassroots and lived experience engagement

→ Challenging structural and systemic issues

If you are a Q Shelter member who works or volunteers in the sector and needs special funding to grow your skills, consider applying to the 2022 Deirdre Coghlan Bursary. Applications close 1 October 2022. The winners of the 2022 bursary will announced at Q Shelter’s Annual General Meeting in November.

Interested in applying but aren’t yet a Q Shelter member? Memberships start from $10/year for concession holders. As well as being eligible for the bursary, members received discounts to all our training and events, and help shape our representative voice to government. If you share our vision of a home for every Queenslander, sign up today!

Last year’s winners included:

  • Erin Jia, Warringu. .
    • $3,300 bursary payment to allow all staff to undertake Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health first-aid training.
  • Daniel Robertson, Neighbourly.
    • $700 bursary to engage professional mentoring services.
  • David Foreman, Integrated Family & Youth Service .
    • $510 to allow a team member to attend “Motivational Interviewing”, a two-day intensive program, with Mental Health Coordinating Council (MHCC).
  • Kristy Polo, Access Community Housing.
    • $499 bursary to complete a Certificate of Domestic and Family Violence Practice.

Brisbane 2032 Legacy Learning Series from Q Shelter

Q Shelter has delivered a report called Go for Gold encouraging a comprehensive suite of solutions to housing supply and affordability. This series will take place as part of Q Shelter’s Feeling the Pulse sessions on housing investment and growth and in partnership with CHIA Qld and National Shelter.

 

Session One: Working towards a healthy housing system and why social housing isn’t enough on its own. Speaker Saul Eslake.

Click here to register.

Wednesday 17 August  |  3.00pm-4.00pm

 

Session Two: Liveable higher density social and affordable housing. Speaker Dr Sacha Reid from Australia’s Sustainable Built Environment National Research Centre.

Click here to register.

Wednesday 21 September  |  2.00pm-3.00pm

 

Brisbane 2032 Legacy Learning Series Workshop

Click here to register

Wednesday 16th November 10:00am – 12:30pm

 

Session Three: Case study of Glasgow 2014.

Click here to register

Wednesday 25 January  |  4:30pm – 5:30pm

 

Click here to read the report

Domestic & Family Violence: Strengthening the Real Estate Response – a toolkit to guide practice

The toolkit has been updated to reflect legislative changes to the Rooming and Accommodation Act.

This toolkit has been developed to support real estate agents strengthen their practice in managing tenancies that are impacted by Domestic and Family Violence, providing:

  • information to increase awareness;
  • tools to guide Property Managers to manage tenancies impacted; and
  • suggestions about how to advise landlords on the situation and its management.

This toolkit aims to strengthen the response of the real estate industry as Australia strives to put a halt to domestic and family violence.

Safe and secure housing is a critical component for victims of domestic and family violence and the real estate industry is in a prime position to help achieve this outcome.

This resource was funded by the Queensland Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women in partnership with the Australian Government Department of Social Services.

Click here to access the toolkit.

 

Federal Leaders’ Debate Falls Short on Nationally Co-ordinated Approach to Housing Solutions

21 April 2022 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Federal Leaders’ Debate Falls Short on Nationally Co-ordinated Approach to Housing Solutions

Housing and Homelessness peak body, Q Shelter was heartened to hear housing affordability mentioned at the outset of last night’s Federal Leaders’ Debate. However, is calling for both leaders to go further and commit to a Housing Summit and a National Housing Strategy.

Q Shelter Executive Director, Fiona Caniglia said we needed to know that national leaders would work to unite all relevant stakeholders in a focussed effort to address Australia’s deepening housing crisis.

“We need to reach beyond partisan politics to find unity of purpose to ensure all Australians are housed affordably and appropriately. There is no greater threat to our prosperity as a nation and our wellbeing as people,” Ms Caniglia said.

“People in housing stress don’t want political point-scoring. They want solutions that reach ahead to meet forecasted need.

“It isn’t good enough to shift responsibility to other levels of Government. Every level of Government, the private sector, community and not for profit sector all have vital roles to play which is why national leadership is vital.”

Q Shelter is calling for a nationally coordinated approach combined with targets of 32,000 new social and affordable homes for Queensland by 2032.

 

ENDS

Media opportunities for comment by Q Shelter Executive Director, Fiona Caniglia.
Q Shelter Media Contact: Michelle Saftich – Phone 0407 074 645

 

PDF version.

Q Shelter State Budget Submission 2022 – 2023

Q Shelter welcomes the opportunity to make this submission to the Queensland State Government. Its purpose is to address housing need and homelessness as the recovery from COVID-19 progresses, and in the context of recent flood events which have damaged homes. These two events are also helping to drive historically low vacancy rates in the private rental market and a worsening housing crisis. It is offered as input to the Queensland State Budget process.

Click here to read Q Shelter’s budget submission.

Macedon Ranges Shire Council adopts interim affordable housing policy

“The draft interim policy has been developed as a time-sensitive priority of council. Inputs have included environment review of local government approaches and engagement with relevant local peak bodies.”

The policy received eight written submissions and had one participant in an online forum, with a major response to the policy identifying the need for council to advocate for people living with disabilities because they were disproportionally affected.

Changes to the policy were made to ensure people with disabilities were included, such as to ‘understand that choice and control principles should be reflected in decisions related to housing needs of people with disability’ and to ‘understand the value of community, and the importance of an individual being able to stay close to his/her/their support networks’.

Rental market Australia: Covid-19 pandemic sparks housing crisis

Researchers from the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) and University of NSW (UNSW) found that soaring rents was an issue across the country, especially in regional areas.

The research also pointed out flaws in the nation’s investment in social and affordable housing, noting that while some states’ investments would add more than 23,000 new homes, more than 400,000 households would still be in need of affordable housing.

While rents declined sharply in some inner city suburbs at the start of the pandemic, from mid-2020 they increased and by August 2021 were accelerating at more than 8 per cent – the fastest pace since 2008.

But the report found the rapid rent acceleration wasn’t just confined to the cities.

Median Australian home rockets $126,700 in value over the past year

Australia’s housing market continues to surge, with prices lifting for the 14th consecutive month and the median home adding a staggering $126,700 in value over the past year.

CoreLogic’s latest figures show a 1.3 per cent increase in November, taking the annual price growth rate to 22.2 per cent.

But it was the softest rise since January when values gained 0.9 per cent.

Since peaking in March, when housing values jumped by 2.8 per cent, there has been a notable easing, CoreLogic says.

The group’s research director Tim Lawless puts that down to a number of reasons.

“Virtually every factor that has driven housing values higher has lost some potency over recent months,” Mr Lawless said on Wednesday.

“Fixed mortgage rates are rising, higher listings are taking some urgency away from buyers, affordability has become a more substantial barrier to entry and credit is less available.”

Brisbane and Adelaide are the only capital cities yet to experience a slowdown.

In the Queensland capital, home values put on 2.9 per cent last month – the highest rate of growth since October 2003.

Interest rates are expected to rise in 2023.