Welcome to the Homelessness NSW website

At its April 2012 meeting, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) released its November 2011 review of the progress of the National Partnership on Homelessness. The review found some evidence of progress towards the outcomes specified in the National Partnership Agreement. The review report is available at www.coag.gov.au

 

OWN NSW 3 R's forum on ageism & its effects on health, housing & well-being of older women. Aims To challenge attitudes, encourage social recognition of contributions, achievements & potential of older women & identify opportunities for innovative change.Click Flyer. Register Now 

Read our blog by clicking the orange rss feed icon at the bottom of our home page or click here

http://www.homelessnessnsw.blogspot.com

Peak not for profit organisations that work in the social and community services sector in NSW have adopted a Charter which outlines the sectors' key values roles and responsibilities.

Click here to view: NSW CHARTER

More info...

The Australian Council of Social Service has launched a national campaign to raise unemployment allowances such as Newstart and demand better targeted jobs assistance. The campaign calls for Allowance payments to be raised by $50 per week, as recommended by the Henry Tax Review report and the OECD. Full details including signing the campaign statement and showing you support for the campaign in other ways are at www.acoss.org.au

Fantastic training available for our sector

Please click on the link to see what is available to increase your knoweldge and skills.

www.community.nsw.gov.au/training or call  02 4979 1645

 The McKell Institute, on behalf of the Mercy Foundation, has produced a report which highlights 40 things to do to improve housing supply and affordability. The actions range from political leadership, planning and tax reform to tackling nimbysim, and innovation. Full details are available at www.mercyfoundation.org.au

The annual report on Government Services, prepared by the Productivity Commission for the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) has been released. Details on the performance of Government funded specialist homelessness services across all States and Territories are contained in volume 2, chapter 17 of the report. It can be accessed at www.pc.gov.au and follow the prompts

Explorations in nonprofit housing: models vicissitudes resurgence
On 14th June 2012

Download leaflet: http://www.shelternsw.org.au/docs/fly12conference.pdf

Deatils available soon: http://www.shelternsw.org.au/docs/fly12conference-about.html
Registration queries, contact Yana Myronenko on (02) 9267 5733 ext. 13 via admin@shelternsw.org.au

We invite members to contribute to Spotlight by supplying any good news stories. Tell us & visitors to the site what your organisations have achieved.

Send Spotlight items to meryem@homelessnessnsw.org.au

Preliminary talks with Snr Housing & Community Services, FACS officers & SHS peaks, YFoundations, NSW WRM & Homelessness NSW commenced about the direction of, & proposals for future change in the provision of SHS's in NSW. It is timely as the 4 year National Partnership on Homelessness commitments enter their last funding year & views are being developed about which keys strengths of the SHS system should be carried forward into the future & what are the lessons in the performance of HAP projects in NSW to date. Watch this space.

AHURI has just released a major report which examines the sustainability outcomes of new affordable housing projects. By considering eight case study projects, it shows how limited public funding was best used to leverage desirable financial, environmental and social outcomes.  Developing sustainable affordable housing: a project level analysis. Download it www.ahuri.edu.au/publications/projects

The new 8 level classification structure replacing the 6 level structure of the NSW SACS Award will have to be fully implemented from 1st July 2012. Social, Community & Disability workers covered by these arrangements in NSW need to be reclassified.

NCOSS, the ASU & NDS are working together to ensurethis occurs smoothly.Industry info sessions are being held across the State staring in mid-March in Sydney. Full session details are available at www.ncoss.org.au/content/view/6238/100

 

In early April, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) released the first results fro the new specialist homelessness services data collection. The data period covered was 1 July to 30 September 2011. Briefly , over 91.000 people were supported nationally by SHSs during this period. 50% being aged under 25 and 59% being female. 5% of people received support following discharge from care and custodial settings. Full details at www.aihw.gov.au

Research being released at this week’s AHURI Homelessness Research conference by the Melbourne Institute of Applied Social & economic Research, clearly demonstrates a significant portion of homeless people have experienced physical, sexual & emotional abuse & neglect in the earlier years. It notes that there are many vulnerable clients of Centrelink (estimate of 95,000) who are not flagged by Centrelink internal processes as people who may be at risk of homelessness

Housing, FACS has released information about changes to Renstart which will now mean that loans will be offered to eligible applicants seeking assistance with bond payments for new tenancies. Full details are available at http://www.housingpathways.nsw.gov.au/NR/rdonlyres/AB420E92-273C-4C49-97D7-C337199960E8/0/RentstartBondLoanweb.pdf

The report from the 2012 Homelessness Research Conference held by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) is now available for download. The conference featured both prominent international and Australian based researchers, including reports from key research into the changing demographics of homeless people, the cost effectiveness of different models of homelessness service delivery and the massive undercounting of boarding (rooming) houses in official data. Full details at www.ahuri.edu.au

 As part of a new National Partnership Agreement on Mental Health, the Commonwealth will provide NSW with $57.6 million over 5 years for three new projects. They are:

• $35.2 mill for the expansion of the existing Housing and Accommodation Support Initiative (HASI);
• $12.3 mill for the provision of intensive, family focussed support to mothers with mental illness and their children; and
• $10.2 mill for support services to boarding house residents who have been assessed as having mental health issues

New leases /outsourcing of maintenance for crisis and transitional properties managed by SHS

 The Community Housing Division, Housing, FACS has advised of plans to:

Outsource the maintenance of properties managed by SHS for crisis and transitional housing to community housing organisations; and develop and use a new standard lease for crisis and transitional housing (a draft is expected for comment shortly). 

There will be opportunity to discuss both these matters at our conference in May