Housing ACT is a division of the Community Services Directorate. The area is responsible for the provision of public housing and community services in the Territory.
The organisation allocates, manages and maintains more than 11,000 public and community housing properties. It also coordinates comprehensive support services and community participation programs for its tenants.
More broadly, Housing ACT provides support for people who are disadvantaged or experiencing a crisis. It does this through a variety of programs, including services targeted at preventing homelessness and assisting people to transit through homelessness into stable housing.
Some of Labor's achievements during 2009-2010 include:
- In 2009-10 the ACT and Federal Governments joined forces to deliver a suite of new programs to tackle homelessness. The result is more properties, new service delivery models, more short-term accommodation (including emergency accommodation for those escaping domestic violence), and more support for those with complex needs. The Street to Home program has been operational since March 2010 to support Canberrans experiencing chronic homelessness. The program uses assertive engagement and outreach to help people into appropriate and stable housing.
- The Government helped fund the Street Law initiativewhich provides legal advice and referrals for the homeless or those at risk of becoming homeless. Additional funding has been provided for an Indigenous Liaison Officer for the ACT Legal Aid Office, a supervisory lawyer and a part-time youth community legal education officer for the Youth Law Centre, and the Indigenous Women’s Law Project at the Women’s Legal Centre. Additional funding has also been provided to expand victims support services.
- The Refugee Transitional Housing Program (RTHP) has been expanded to provide 16 properties for newly arrived refugees in the ACT.
- A grant of $750,000 was made available to the Early Morning Drop-in centre at Pilgrim House to refurbish and expand its current facilities.
- $2.09m over three years has been provided for the provision of a new Central Intake Service for homelessness. The service will streamline service entry points into the homelessness service system so that clients do not have to negotiate with multiple agencies to access services.
- In partnership with the Commonwealth Government, the ACT Government expects to deliver around 300 older persons units which are currently being constructed at eight community facilities sites across Canberra.
- $2.5m has been provided in order to accelerate the delivery of the Place to Call Home Initiative. This funding will assist with the construction of twenty new homes for homeless families.
- A new tenancy sustainment service commences in late 2010. This service will provide short term support to tenants in housing stress aimed at preserving a tenancy and preventing homelessness. This service will also be delivered to home owners in mortgage stress
