CHANGING THE SYSTEM NDS’S RESPONSE TO THE ‘SOCIAL HOUSING IN NSW’ DISCUSSION PAPER

National Disability Services March 2015

Contact

Scott Holz NDS State Manager NSW 02 9256 3118 0412 020 478 scott.holz@nds.org.au

Evan Wallace NDS Sector Development Officer NSW 02 9256 3193 0427 135 520 evan.wallace@nds.org.au

About National Disability Services

National Disability Services is the peak body for non-government disability services. Its purpose is to promote quality service provision and life opportunities for people with disability. NDS’s Australia-wide membership includes more than 1000 non-government organisations, which support people with all forms of disability. NDS provides information and networking opportunities to its members and policy advice to state, territory and federal governments.

CONTENTS

1 Executive summary 3

2 Summary of recommendations 4

3 Introduction 5

Defining social housing 6

4 More housing 5

A system under strain 7

Demand in the community 9

Making a difference 11

5 Changing the system 13

Recommendations 1 & 2 14

6 NDIS interface 15

Crisis services 15

Recommendation 3 16

Vacancy management and allocation 16

Recommendation 4 17

The role of the National Disability Scheme (NSW Enabling) Act 2013 18

Recommendations 5 & 6 14

7 Conclusion 19

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1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This submission makes the case for why the NSW Government should implement new funding mechanisms for social housing. The submission explores how effective planning for the transition to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is crucial to securing positive housing outcomes for people with disability in NSW.

National Disability Services (NDS) has consulted with over 30 organisations including community housing providers, supported accommodation providers and disability support providers to develop this submission. The feedback we received from these consultations reveals how the social housing system is failing people with disability.

Without immediate action, the social housing system in NSW will become increasingly unsustainable.

For people with disability, the current waitlist of 60,000 (representing over 120,000 people), demonstrates that there is a fraction of the required housing available.1 This environment is forcing people into highly inappropriate and often temporary accommodation.

There are no current mechanisms to address demand on a large scale. Strategies that are being pursued by disability service providers such as leveraging rely on organisations being in a financial position to take on loans and risk to build new dwellings. Other models rely on family support, personal wealth, community philanthropy or commonwealth funds and are therefore not sustainable or able to be applied on a broader scale.

Innovative revenue raising options are required to address the need for increased social housing on a large scale and to support the work of non-government organisations.

NDS proposes the introduction of an affordable housing levy to ensure that there is sustainable funding for social housing.

The NDIS is changing how people with disability will access housing and housing services.

NDS members identified three major areas where further planning in partnership with the National Disability Insurance Agency and non-government disability service providers is required; crisis services, vacancy management and the implementation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (New South Wales Enabling) Act 2013.

Only well-considered policy can ensure that reform to these processes do not have the unintended consequence of negatively impacting people with disability.

1 Family and Community Services (2014), Social Housing in NSW: a discussion paper for input and comment, http://www.facs.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/file/0009/303030/Social-Housing-in-NSW_Discussion-Paper.pdf

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2 SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS

RECOMMENDATION 1:

That the NSW Government introduce a state-wide affordable housing levy that guarantees 3% of the total floor area for all new residential housing developments is used for affordable housing. All affordable housing that is built under this levy must meet the gold level Liveable Housing Australia accreditation standards.

RECOMMENDATION 2:

That the NSW Government match ‘dollar-for-dollar’, commensurate to the portion of funding that is allocated to NSW, any new capital investments that the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) makes in housing for people with disability.

RECOMMENDATION 3:

That the NSW Government’s social housing policy address the need for partnership between Housing NSW, the NDIA and disability service providers to ensure that crisis management is coordinated, appropriate and accessible during and following the transition to the NDIS.

RECOMMENDATION 4:

That Housing NSW leads regional networks to ‘problem solve’ housing needs and challenges experienced by NDIS participants. These networks should provide a hub to share knowledge of available supported accommodation and accessible community and public housing.

RECOMMENDATION 5:

That the Department of Family and Community Services (FaCS) commit to no overall net loss of social housing for people with disability as part of asset transfers under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (New South Wales Enabling) Act 2013. This commitment needs to ensure that regional and remote areas are not adversely affected.

RECOMMENDATION 6:

As part of the transfer of housing assets under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (New South Wales Enabling) Act 2013, title is transferred with the respective government asset. At a minimum, non-government organisations must be granted lease conditions that allow for the equity of land to be unlocked.

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Social housing provides disadvantaged members of the community with a foundation for economic and social participation. It is also a fundamental need that is required to connect people with disability to community, employment and health services.

NDS has consulted with over 30 organisations including community housing providers, supported accommodation providers and disability support providers to develop this submission. The locations for these consultations, Sydney, Newcastle and Dubbo, were selected to better understand how demand for social housing manifests across different parts of the state.2

The insights and information gathered from these consultations reveal and demonstrate how the social housing system is failing people with disability.

As the peak body for disability service providers, NDS has focussed this submission on those issues that most affect those organisations that support people with disability, their families and carers. NDS acknowledges that the housing system is complex and involves multiple service areas. There are other organisations that are better placed to comment on the important interfaces of social housing such as employment, mental health, children’s services and other stakeholder groups.

This submission makes the case for why the NSW Government should implement new funding mechanisms for social housing and how effective planning for the transition to the NDIS is crucial to securing positive housing outcomes for people with disability.

The climate of growing demand for social housing requires a new strategy through which the NSW Government can work closely with the non-government organisations that are making a difference in a highly constrained environment.

It also demands changes at a national level.

FaCS’s NSW social housing strategy is being planned at a time when Commonwealth funding for the Affordable Housing Specific Purpose Payment to NSW has decreased by almost 50% in real terms.3 The cessation of the National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS) has also had a substantial impact on capital funding.

NDS acknowledges that the continuing absence of the National Disability Insurance Agency’s (NDIA) profoundly delayed housing discussion paper makes policy planning difficult.4

Despite these challenges, a proactive response from the NSW Government that includes new investment in accessible housing stock and integration with the NDIS will contribute to meeting the demand for social housing that is experienced by people with disability.

Without immediate action, the social housing system in NSW will become increasingly unsustainable and crisis-driven.

2 Case studies obtained from these consultations provide the substantive evidence for this submission.3 Family and Community Services (2013), The National Affordable Housing Agreement and National Partnerships, presentation at Shelter NSW’s ‘Housing crossroads conference’, 18/3/2013. 4 National Disability Insurance Scheme (2014), Bruce Bonyhady Speech: St Laurence National Conference, http://www.ndis.gov.au/document/889

3 INTRODUCTION

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Defining social housing

NDS has included supported accommodation in its definition of social housing. In NSW there are 10,600 people with disability who are accessing “group home accommodation, individual accommodation support and a range of other accommodation options”.5

These forms of accommodation represent a significant form of government subsidised housing for the state’s 204,900 people with significant disability.6 These accommodation options are frequently important transition points into community and public housing.

NDS believes therefore, that supported accommodation should be included in the “other services and products” captured in FaCS’s definition of social housing.7

5 NSW Treasury (2014), Budget Estimates 2014-15, Budget Paper No.3, http://www.budget.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/124271/2014-15_Budget_Paper_No.3_-_Budget_Estimates.pdf, p.65.6 Australian Bureau of Statistics (2013), Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia: Summary of Findings, 2012, http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4430.07 Family and Community Services (2014), Social Housing in NSW: a discussion paper for input and comment, http://www.facs.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/file/0009/303030/Social-Housing-in-NSW_Discussion-Paper.pdf, p.49.

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4 MORE HOUSING

NDS is pleased that FaCS is seeking to develop a ‘sustainable’ social housing system “that provides appropriate housing assistance now and into the future” as part of the ‘third pillar’ of its proposed social housing strategy.8 The stark reality of the current demand for social housing is that without the creation of additional dwellings, it will be impossible for the goals of this pillar to be realised.

This section details what demand ‘looks like on the ground’ for people with disability and the investment strategies that disability service providers and community housing providers are pursuing in an attempt to relieve the demand which is currently placed on the social housing system. Recommendations are also provided.

A system under strain

People with disability are already a significant social housing tenant group. The numbers of people with disability attempting to access social housing will continue to grow:

• Inthe2012-13financialyear,theDisabilitySupportPensionwasthemainsourceofincomefor 30% of all social housing tenants;9

• Morethan35%ofsocialhousingtenantsarelivingwithdisability;10

• In2021,over50%ofallsocialhousingneedwillbefromolderpeopleandpeoplewithsignificant disability.11

____________________________________

8 Ibid, p.7.9 Family and Community Services (2014), op.cit, p.21.10 Ibid, p.22.11 NSW Auditor-General (2013), ‘Making the best use of public housing’, https://www.audit.nsw.gov.au/ArticleDocuments/280/01_Public_Housing_Full_Report.pdf.aspx?Embed=Y p.12

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There is an acute housing crisis in NSW, much of the demand for affordable housing will affect people with disability.

Need for housing going up

Availability of housing

going down

Up to 40,000 NDIS participants in NSWwill not be able to access public or social housing due to lack of appropriate supply.

is the number of ageing parent carers in NSW supporting people with disability.

Families are being forced to make heart-breaking decisions as ageing parent carers pass away or can no longer support their child.

13,000In 2003

21,000In 2012

IT IS ESTIMATED THAT THERE ARE MORE

THAN 2,300 PEOPLE UNDER 65 LIVING IN

NSW AGED CARE FACILITIES.

Figure 1: NDS Housing Infographic

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The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is bringing increased urgency and attention to the need for more social housing as participants take advantage of the opportunity for independence that the scheme provides.12

• Therewillbe40,000NDISparticipantsinNSWwhowillnotbeabletoaccessaffordablehousing due a lack of accessible supply.13

• InNSW,thenumberofpeoplewithdisabilitylivingwithageingparentcarershasincreasedfrom 13,000 in 2003 to 21,000 in 2012.14 15 Many of these parents face challenging decisions on how their children will be supported.

• Itisestimatedthattherearemorethan2,300peopleunder65livinginNSWagedcarefacilities.16

This information is also included in an infographic prepared by NDS (Figure 1 – previous page).

The scale of meeting this growing demand can only be fully understood by examining how this severe undersupply is impacting on people with disability and the families and organisations that support them.

Demand in the community

Sydney

For people with disability, the current waitlist of 60,000 (representing over 120,000 people), demonstrates that there is a fraction of the required housing available.17 This environment is forcing people into highly inappropriate and often temporary accommodation. Multiple examples of people with disability residing temporarily in mental health and correctional facilities were provided at the Sydney consultation.

Feedback from community housing and disability service providers point to a system that is in complete crisis. As a result of how the Housing Act categorises those ‘most in need’ of social housing, people with disability are overlooked for social housing until their situation becomes dangerous or untenable.18

Multiple organisations provided examples of families that have felt they need to inflate or simulate situations of acute distress in order to secure social housing. Here was one such comment provided at the Sydney consultation:

“..it’s talked up. You get these profiles, it sounds like if this person was an animal you would probably take them to the vet. The whole family is in absolute crisis, people have threatened to kill one another. You are really stuck…We [disability service providers] are just doing what it takes to get it right.”19

In the face of the NDIS, disability service providers are concerned that demand challenges will be exacerbated as the acquisition of transitional accommodation centres, like any capital asset, will not be funded under the NDIS.

12 National Disability Services (2014), Social, Public and Affordable Housing Inquiry, www.nds.org.au/asset/view_document/97932422413 Bonyhady, B (2013), The National Disability Insurance Scheme: supporting participants to gain appropriate housing with quality support, presentation to the NDS Disability Support Living Innovation Forum, 21/10/13, http://www.nds.org.au/asset/view_document/97932264614 Australian Bureau of Statistics (2013), Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia: Summary of Findings, 2012, http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4430.015 Australian Bureau of Statistics (2004), Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia: Summary of Findings, 2003, http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4430.0Main+Features12003?OpenDocument16 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2011), Younger people with disability in residential aged care, http://www.aihw.gov.au/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=10737421563, p.7.17 Family and Community Services (2014), op.cit, p.6.18 Parliament of NSW (2014), Housing Act 2001, http://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/xref/inforce/ ?xref=Type%3Dact%20AND%20Year%3D2001%20AND%20no%3D52&nohits=y19 NDS Social Housing Consultation Participant (2015) Consultation Session, 29/1/15, Sydney, NSW.

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Newcastle

In the Hunter Region trial site, disability service providers are working with NDIS participants who have independent living in their NDIS plans but are unable to find affordable housing to realise this goal. In many cases, disability service providers are successfully building the independent living skills of participants only to be disappointed by a lack of appropriate supply.

Participants at the Newcastle consultation all shared similar experiences to the scenario captured by a representative from an organisation providing community living services:

“We were working with a young man who received NDIS funding – he applied for skills for independent living. He reached a point where he was ready to go, his plan review was up, he was ready for housing – and there was none.”20

The NDIS trial site has brought attention to the number of eligible NDIS participants, not previously known to the system, who are inappropriately housed in aged care facilities.

“In the absence of moving ageing parents, or the breakdown of informal networks – people might say, ‘we’ll put them into a nursing home with the hope that their plan may be changed.’ Once you go into that nursing home, it’s very difficult to come out”.21

In the Hunter Region trial site alone, there are currently 172 young people living in residential aged care.22

Dubbo

In Dubbo, our consultation with local providers painted a picture of a system at complete capacity. The Westhaven Association, for instance, has been placed under significant strain as they have been forced to absorb demand from across the greater central and far west regions.

“It’s no good [just] thinking about people coming from the Far West into Dubbo. We’re taking people in from Orange and Bathurst.”23

The challenge of locating appropriate social housing for Aboriginal people with disability is also acute in central and far west NSW. Consultation attendees identified a level of racism that is embedded in the system, and layers of discrimination experienced by people with disability.

“The reality is that if you’re Aboriginal, it will be really difficult to get housing of any sort. I have one Aboriginal manager [looking for housing for a client] and if she goes into a place where the person isn’t Aboriginal, she will get a straight off ‘no’.”24

20 NDS Social Housing Consultation Participant (2015) Consultation Session, 2/2/15, Newcastle, NSW.21 Ibid (2015).22 Winkler, D., Callaway, L & Guthrie, S (2013), National Disability Insurance Scheme launch sites: projection of the number of young people in residential aged care, http://www.summerfoundation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/ProjectionsYPINH-FINAL01.10.2013.pdf, PwC & Summer Foundation Ltd, p.23.23 NDS Social Housing Consultation Participant (2015) Consultation Session, 3/2/15, Dubbo, NSW.24 ibid (2015).

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Making a difference

Disability service providers, community housing providers and families are combining desperation and innovation to create new dwellings for people with disability.

Leveraging assets

To make new investments in housing and dwellings, disability service providers are pursuing various borrowing strategies by leveraging off existing assets. This approach is the dominant way that disability service providers are able to locate necessary funds to invest in new infrastructure, however the model involves all risk being assumed by the disability service provider.

Case Study One – Achieve Australia

Achieve Australia, a disability service based in Sydney’s metropolitan north, was faced with the challenge of the devolution of a LRC with almost 50 residents. The project had a clear objective: transition residents to community living without government funding for capital costs.

Achieve did not have the financial resources to fund alternative housing or accommodation, so sought a development partner and various external experts to realise the potential value of the asset locked in the land occupied by the LRC facility.

The sale of the land and proposed use of the sale proceeds attracted over $32.5 million in investment. Part of these funds has been allocated to deliver liveable housing in the community for the residents of the LRC and an additional number of people with disability requiring accommodation support.

As the case example of Achieve Australia demonstrates, disability service providers have been able to leverage assets to develop new infrastructure, at no additional cost to the government. This is an example of where the non-government sector is delivering “better outcomes for clients and greater value for money” in a way that must be considered for FaCS’s strategy development.25

However, this approach can lead to disability service providers carrying significant debt in scenarios where building costs are substantial relative to the value of the asset. Nor does it address demand on a large scale. Rather, leveraging assets can improve the capacity of disability service providers to provide additional accommodation.

Shared equity

Community housing providers and disability service providers have successfully pursued a ‘shared equity’ approach to building assets. This process often involves requesting that a person with disability or their family subsidise some of the development costs in order to secure a dwelling in a new housing development. A shared equity approach relies on the family being able to locate the necessary finance to enter into such an arrangement. This approach is not inclusive of individuals and families from low socio-economic backgrounds.

Community initiatives

Families and concerned communities have shown incredible initiative to address a shortage of available housing. In regional areas, where investment is seldom allocated to meet the demand of social housing for people with disability, community fundraising and lobbying have been used as primary mechanisms to raise the necessary finance to secure land and build new dwellings.

25 Family and Community Services (2014), op.cit, p.8.

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Case Study 2 – Balranald partnerships

“We started with Mackillop Services…they were doing drought support for families. A group of ten young adults with intellectual disability started coming into a shop that we ran. All [of the young adults] were living with aged parents and they requested independent living.

We were able to get some funding to build housing and provide live-in support. Balranald [Shire] gave the block of land and the community organisation, Homes Out West [a community housing provider], lobbied to get the money to build the units. In 2008, after starting in 1993, we finally got Ageing, Disability and Home Care (ADHC) funding to provide in home support.

This is an example of how a small community can win”.26

Federal funding and innovation funds

When opportunities have been available, disability service providers and community housing providers have taken advantage of federal innovation funds and special funding to make inroads into demand for social housing.

All community housing providers and disability service providers consulted for this submission identified the now defunct NRAS as a vehicle to invest in new dwellings for people with disability. For instance, in Victoria, the Summer Foundation used NRAS funding to build a mixed private 59-unit development in Abbotsford that provides 24-hour supports for people with disability residing in the units.27

In the Hunter Region, Ability Options used capital from the Supported Accommodation Innovation Fund (SAIF), which expired in 2012, to create 20 individualised units for clusters of 2-3 people. This “allowed people to move out of the family home, particularly people with physical disability where other options hadn’t been appropriate”.28

The absence of such funding opportunities severely limits the ability of disability service providers to respond to local community needs.

A system in crisis

Evidently, disability service providers and community housing providers are working at the margins to address people with disability’s need for social housing. A common theme in all of these efforts is the presence of partnerships to identify new housing opportunities. This is an approach that must continue into the future with much greater ‘buy-in’ from the NSW Government and wider community.

There are no current mechanisms to address demand on a large scale. Leveraging relies on organisations being in a financial position to take on loans and risk to build new dwellings. The other models rely on family support, personal wealth, community philanthropy or commonwealth funds and are therefore not sustainable or able to be applied on a broader scale.

FaCS’s new Social Housing policy must consider investments in partnerships that can develop supported accommodation as an important element of the social housing system, with the capacity to introduce the sustainability that is required and to address demand on a much greater scale.

26 NDS Social Housing Consultation Participant (2015) Consultation Session, 3/2/15, Dubbo, NSW.27 Summer Foundation (2013), Housing Demonstration Project, http://www.summerfoundation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/Housing-Demonstration-Project.pdf28 Department of Social Services (2014), Supported Accommodation Innovation Fund, https://www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/disability-and-carers/program-services/for-service-providers/supported-accommodation-innovation-fund-saif

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5 CHANGING THE SYSTEM

NDS recommends that the NSW government introduce a funding mechanism that will provide sustainability and the necessary finance to create more social housing in NSW.

Affordable Housing Levy

It is encouraging that FaCS is open to considering the introduction of a levy to fund new investments in social housing.29 This model is one that elevates investment in affordable housing to a whole-of-community issue and ensures that philanthropy and ‘having a social conscience’ are not the only incentives for private builders to invest in affordable housing.

This model has been successful for the City of Sydney’s ‘Green Square Affordable Housing Program’.30 The program is based on the premise that “all development within Green Square…is required to provide affordable housing”.31 The Program has set a target of 330 affordable units funded by contributions from building redevelopments.32 It works on the assumption that a portion of the wealth generated from a housing project should be shared with the broader neighbourhood.

A similar model has been used in Ultimo and Pyrmont.33 As of 2014, over 600 affordable units had been built or were being built in these sites.34

Evidently, innovative revenue raising options can successfully address the need for social housing on a large scale. An affordable housing levy such as that created in the above example allows the NSW government to forgo some financial responsibility for new affordable housing investment.

In order for older people and people with disability to be able to access new stock, this supply must follow Liveable Housing Australia (LHA) guidelines.

These guidelines provide direction on additions and design elements which need to be included to ensure that a dwelling is conducive to active ageing. Criteria include mobility support (e.g. stairway handrails and step-free access to at least one doorway) to accessibility modifications (e.g. continuous step-free access from street level to the dwelling entrance and reinforced walls to support bathroom grab rails).35

At present, NSW is failing to meet the minimum LHA guidelines. In Australia between 2010 and 2014, less than 5% of new buildings complied with the minimum criteria.36

29 Department of Family and Community Service (2014), op.cit, p.41.30 City of Sydney (2012), Green Square Affordable Housing Program, http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0014/133160/GreenSquareAffordableHousingProgram.pdf31 ibid, p.5.32 ibid, p.6.33 City of Sydney (2013), City West Affordable Housing, http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/development/planning-controls/affordable-housing-and-development-contributions/city-west-affordable-housing34 City of Sydney (2014), City of Sydney leading the way on major projects, http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/council/news-and-updates/featured-articles/city-of-sydney-leading-the-way-on-major-projects35 Liveable Housing Australia (2015), Liveable Housing Guidelines, http://livablehousingaustralia.org.au/design-guidelines/36 Australian Network for Universal Housing Design (2014), Report on the Progress of the National Dialogue on Universal Housing Design 2010-2014, p.10.

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RECOMMENDATION 1

That the NSW Government introduce a state-wide affordable housing levy that guarantees 3% of the total floor area for all new residential housing developments is used for affordable housing. All affordable housing that is built under this levy must meet the gold level Liveable Housing Australia accreditation standards.

Future Opportunities

$700 million per annum has been allocated at full NDIS rollout to improve the housing options available to people with disability.37

This opportunity was identified in the Legislative Council’s final report on social, public and affordable housing, which recommends:

“that the NSW Government give priority to ensuring information is reviewed in relation to funding from the National Disability Insurance Agency to provide for housing for people with a disability.”38

As part of the transition to the NDIS, the money that has been allocated to the NDIA for housing provides a platform to reduce the number of NDIS participants requiring accessible affordable housing. However, in order to make a real difference, there is a need for this cash injection to be matched with co-investment from state and territory governments.

The NDIA has stated:

“This is a large amount but to achieve maximum impact it must act as a catalyst and be leveraged two to three times, as well as being available to be recycled, as new participants join.”39

RECOMMENDATION 2

That the NSW government match ‘dollar-for-dollar’, commensurate to the portion of funding that is allocated to NSW, any new capital investments that the NDIA makes in housing for people with disability.

37 Bonyhady, B (2013), The National Disability Insurance Scheme: supporting participants to gain appropriate housing with quality support, presentation to the NDS Disability Support Living Innovation Forum, 21/10/13, http://www.nds.org.au/asset/view_document/97932264638 Select Committee on Social, Public and Affordable Housing (2014), Social public and affordable housing, http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/committee.nsf/0/12b4da4578015782ca257d4d 00120ffe/$FILE/Summary%20of%20recommendations%20(2).pdf p.xix39 Bonyhady, B (2013), op.cit.

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6 NDIS INTERFACE

FaCS’s discussion paper identifies that the NDIS provides an opportunity to change how “social housing and disability services intersect”.40 The sector anticipates this change with excitement.

The NDIA will not be responsible for the provision of accommodation, vacancy management and tenancy support.41 It views these responsibilities as the role of the housing sector. While there are many opportunities associated with the transition to the NDIS, our consultations revealed that unless the NSW Government’s planning process takes this into account, various disability housing supports and coordination will be put at risk.

NDS members identified three major areas where further planning in partnership with the NDIA and non-government disability service providers is required; crisis services, vacancy management and the implementation of the NDIS (New South Wales Enabling) Act 2013. Only well-considered policy can ensure that reform to these processes do not have the unintended consequence of negatively impacting people with disability.

Crisis Services

There is a working assumption that if a person with disability enters a period of crisis, ADHC or a funded provider will take on responsibility to ensure that person accesses appropriate emergency services and accommodation. Crisis accommodation is a critical component of this “safety net” for people with disability.42

ADHC’s role in locating and coordinating a response to crises can ensure that people with disability do not fall completely outside of the housing system.

Under the NDIS pricing schedule, funding for emergency accommodation services is deemed appropriate in circumstances “when an integrated package is required to support the participant in emergency or ‘respite’ circumstances for a short period (less than 2 weeks)”.43

When an NDIS participant is either evicted from social housing due to exposure to risk or their own disruptive behaviour, it is critical that NDIS registered providers can deliver these supports with the knowledge that a participant’s plan will be amended retrospectively to include emergency funding.

Our consultation in the Hunter region identified that where ADHC’s role is reduced, identifying responsibility for delivering these forms of emergency supports to people with disability who are not (or not yet) NDIS participants has been challenging and poorly coordinated. Furthermore, at present, ‘mainstream’ crisis accommodation services are not accessible to many people with disability. The result is a cohort at risk of ‘falling through the cracks’.

40 Family and Community Services (2014), op.cit, p.18.41 National Disability Insurance Scheme (2014), Operational Guideline – Planning and Assessment – Supports in the Plan – Interface with Housing and Community Infrastructure (v 1.0), http://www.ndis.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/og_plan_assess_supp_plan_housing_infrastructure_0.docx42 Family and Community Services (2014), op.cit, p.5.43 National Disability Insurance Scheme (2014), Support Clusters Definitions and Pricing for New South Wales, http://www.ndis.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/Price%20List%20-%20New%20South%20Wales%20-%201%20Dec%202014.pdf, p.18.

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One consultation attendee in Newcastle pointed out that “if you have a meltdown on a Saturday you will end up in hospital or a correctional facility.”44 Many examples of people with disability experiencing crisis while residing in social housing being placed in inappropriate institutions due the absence of a ‘provider of last resort’ were shared at this consultation.

NDS fears therefore, that poorly coordinated access to suitable emergency accommodation services will become a trend unless there is improved planning between ADHC and the NDIA on this issue. Until the NDIS is fully operational in NSW in 2018, there will be people with disability who are reliant on ADHC funded disability services across the state. An ADHC funded safety net must be maintained until the NDIA assumes full responsibility for funding emergency accommodation services, or a viable alternative is established in the housing system.

44 NDS Social Housing Consultation Participant (2015) Consultation Session, 2/2/15, Newcastle, NSW.45 Family and Community Services (2014), op.cit, p.21.46 NDS Social Housing Consultation Participant (2015) Consultation Session, 2/2/15, Newcastle, NSW.

RECOMMENDATION 3

That the NSW Government’s social housing policy address the need for partnership between Housing NSW, the NDIA and disability service providers to ensure that crisis management services are coordinated, appropriate and accessible during and following the transition to the NDIS.

Vacancy management and allocation

Housing NSW and the NDIA need to work together towards a fair and “transparent prioritisation and allocation process”.45

While the allocation process for public and community housing has remained the same in the Hunter Region Trial Site, the ADHC managed register for supported accommodation is now redundant. Organisations have responded by establishing individual waiting lists for housing options. One provider remarked:

“One of the greatest positives of no [ADHC] waiting list is that we can work with the NDIA, work with the need now. So the concern is actually finding the housing.”46

The relationship between allocation systems for public and community housing and supported accommodation is complex.

Often cooperation between Housing NSW, the NDIA and disability service providers is required to locate and prioritise the most appropriate form of housing for people with disability.

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Case Study 3 – Vacancy management taskforce

A boarding house in the Hunter region recently had its licence revoked. House With No Steps and the Samaritans Foundation were provided with two weeks’ notice to find interim accommodation for its 65 residents.

After identifying appropriate serviced apartments in Newcastle and Wyee, an interagency project taskforce (which is still operational) was established to identify appropriate long term accommodation for these residents. The taskforce comprised various non-government organisations (NGOs), Housing NSW and the NDIA. The project provided residents with the opportunity to identify their preferences for shared supported accommodation or suitable independent living.

NGOs worked with residents to identify their housing preferences and located supported accommodation vacancies where this option was desired. Housing NSW located available community and public housing properties. The NDIA completed the picture by including reasonable and necessary living supports in NDIS participant plans.

This example demonstrates the positive outcomes possible through cooperation between NGOs, Housing NSW and the NDIA. The taskforce has allowed for multiple housing options to be considered, maximising choice and control. The NGOs and NDIA provided ‘wrap-around supports’ and had an active partner in Housing NSW through its identification of available social housing properties and prioritisation of the boarding house residents.

Replicating the approach of the taskforce on a more permanent basis will provide substance to the NSW Government’s commitment to “enable people with disability to exercise choice and control in the … planning and delivery of their supports and services”.47

RECOMMENDATION 4

That Housing NSW leads regional networks to ‘problem solve’ housing needs and challenges experienced by NDIS participants. These networks should provide a hub to share knowledge of available supported accommodation, as ascertained by NGOs across informal networks, and accessible community and public housing.

A catalyst for this work could emerge from an amendment to how object (f), of the NSW Housing Act (2001) defines those “most in need” for social housing. The complex circumstances experienced by people with disability in relation to housing remains largely invisible to the wider community because they are not as visibly displaced as other vulnerable groups.

Systemic changes are required to ensure a transparent allocation process. Subsequently, NDS urges FaCS to reassess who it classifies as ‘most in need’ by considering the circumstances that can see people who are often in desperate need of housing excluded from the housing priority list.

47 Family and Community Services (2014), op.cit, p.2.48 Parliament of NSW (2014), op.cit, Part 2 (7), http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/ha2001107/49 National Disability Services (2014), op.cit, p. 6.

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The role of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NSW Enabling) Act 2013

The National Disability Scheme (NSW Enabling) Act 2013 (‘the Enabling Act’) is the legislation that will facilitate the transfer of responsibility for disability supports and service delivery to the not-for-profit sector.50 There is growing concern that sufficient consultation with the NGO sector has not yet occurred. No details, timelines nor plans relating to this major reform have been communicated.

The outcome of this transition will have a direct impact on FaCS’s social housing strategy. Government-owned housing assets are used to provide housing for many people with disability. In the 2009–10 financial year there were 313 ADHC owned and managed group homes.51 ADHC is a direct provider of 21% of all supported accommodation services.52

Maintaining assets for disability specific supported housing

As described in the NDS submission to the Legislative Council’s Inquiry on Social, Public and Affordable Housing the current demand for housing for people with disability requires that NSW Government housing assets used for people with disability must continue to be used for this purpose. In the instance that these assets are sold, the profits from any sale must be directed into building new housing for people with disability.53

RECOMMENDATION 5

That FaCS commit to no overall net loss of social housing for people with disability as part of asset transfers under the Enabling Act. This commitment needs to ensure that regional and remote areas are not adversely affected.

This paper has already identified that leveraging assets allows disability service providers to create capital that can fund additional housing places for people with disability.

The Enabling Act allows for services to be “severed from the land on which they are situated”.54 In order to create new housing options for people with disability, disability service providers need to be able to borrow off the value of land. This requires either the transfer of title or a lease that lasts long enough to match the terms of a new loan.

RECOMMENDATION 6

As part of the transfer of housing assets under the Enabling Act, title is transferred with the respective government asset. At a minimum, non-government organisations must be granted lease conditions that allow for the equity of the land to be unlocked.

50 Parliament of New South Wales (2013), National Disability Insurance Scheme (New South Wales Enabling) Act 2013, http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/nswbills.nsf/0/3AD77C16D3DCB60BC A257C0C0018EC1F51 Department of Human Services (2010), Annual Report 2009/10, https://www.opengov.nsw.gov.au/publications/14354, p.47.52 NSW Treasury (2014), op.cit, p.65.53 Ibid, p.65.54 Parliament of NSW (2013), op.cit, Part 4, Section 19.1

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7 CONCLUSION

FaCS needs to articulate a vision for social housing that demonstrates that it is committed to improving how people with disability access the social housing system.

NDS’s submission has demonstrated the complexity of achieving this reform goal. As part of its new social housing strategy, there must be greater acknowledgement that a sustainable social housing system is dependent on the creation of more accessible stock.

This means that the NSW Government must commit to an affordable housing levy that complements the initiatives that are being pursued by disability service providers to meet demand.

At a strategic level, the NDIA, Housing NSW and NGOs need to work together to find effective solutions to housing challenges that are emerging as part of the transition to the NDIS.

In the immediate future, it is critical that the implementation of the Enabling Act includes meaningful consultation with the non-government disability sector. NDS strongly believes that working in partnership will ensure that state-owned housing assets are maintained to support people with disability and create new housing resources.

Through enhanced cooperation, sustainable investment and proper planning the social housing system can be fixed. People with disability, service providers and the wider community are depending on 2015 to be the year of change.

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