❓ A parliamentary question regarding the details of Government Regional Officer Housing (GROH) in several shires and towns was met with a partial answer, citing resource constraints for providing specific property details but outlining general construction materials and property sizes. Future investment and strategies for increasing GROH supply were also detailed.
AnsweredQoN 352Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the Government Regional Officer Housing (GROH) Program, and I ask: (a) For each GROH house in the following shires, please outline its age, number of bedrooms, its construction material and to which agency the house is allocated (Police, WA Country Health Service, Education): (i) Dowerin; (ii) Wongan Ballidu; (iii) Goomalling; (iv) Toodyay; (v) Gingin; (vi) Chittering; (vii) Victoria Plains; (viii) Moora; (ix) Dandaragan; (x) Dalwallinu; (xi) Perenjori; (xii) Coorow; (xiii) Carnamah; (xiv) Morawa; (xv) Mingenew; (xvi) Irwin; and (xvii) Chapman Valley; (b) For each GROH house in the following towns, please outline its age, number of bedrooms, its construction material and to which agency the house is allocated (Police, WA Country Health Service, Education): (i) Northampton; and (ii) Mullewa; (c) Please provide details of any planned sales or demolition of these assets; and (d) Please provide details of any planned new GROH housing to be constructed or provided in each of the above shires or towns, including any modular homes?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
15 February 2022
Responded by
Minister for Housing
Response time
1 days
(a – b)
Providing a breakdown of the age, number of bedrooms and construction material for properties within the 19 listed shires and towns would take a significant amount of time and effort, and it would be unreasonable to divert agency resources away from core service delivery activities for this purpose. However, if the member has a more specific query, I will endeavour to provide the information.
Notwithstanding, Government Regional Officer Housing (GROH) dwellings in the Wheatbelt and Midwest-Gascoyne Regions are constructed with various materials, not dissimilar to equivalent properties in the private market. This can include masonry or fibre-cement sheeting with cement tile or profiled steel roofing or steel/timber frames with profiled steel cladding and roofing.
The GROH property size at a Regional level is detailed below, as at 1 December 2021:
Property Size
Wheatbelt Region
Midwest-Gascoyne Region
1 Bedroom
28
16
2 Bedrooms
95
56
3 Bedrooms
217
226
4 Bedrooms
232
270
5 Bedrooms
1
2
(c – d)
The Department of Communities does not currently have any planned GROH sales or demolitions. GROH owned properties may be sold or demolished for a number of reasons, which could include damage due to natural hazards or intentional or accidental damage, resulting in the property not being economically viable to repair.
Over the next four years, the State Government has committed approximately $200 million to the GROH Program, investing in spot purchases and new builds, refurbishing properties to bring stock back online, and maintenance to ensure stock is maintained to a high standard.
The GROH program continues to source newly constructed housing from private investors, local governments and Aboriginal organisations to meet increasing demand from the program’s client agencies. Additionally, the Department of Communities is working with private developers, Non-Government Organisations and local Shires to explore leasing opportunities to increase the supply of properties available for GROH.
Providing a breakdown of the age, number of bedrooms and construction material for properties within the 19 listed shires and towns would take a significant amount of time and effort, and it would be unreasonable to divert agency resources away from core service delivery activities for this purpose. However, if the member has a more specific query, I will endeavour to provide the information.
Notwithstanding, Government Regional Officer Housing (GROH) dwellings in the Wheatbelt and Midwest-Gascoyne Regions are constructed with various materials, not dissimilar to equivalent properties in the private market. This can include masonry or fibre-cement sheeting with cement tile or profiled steel roofing or steel/timber frames with profiled steel cladding and roofing.
The GROH property size at a Regional level is detailed below, as at 1 December 2021:
Property Size
Wheatbelt Region
Midwest-Gascoyne Region
1 Bedroom
28
16
2 Bedrooms
95
56
3 Bedrooms
217
226
4 Bedrooms
232
270
5 Bedrooms
1
2
(c – d)
The Department of Communities does not currently have any planned GROH sales or demolitions. GROH owned properties may be sold or demolished for a number of reasons, which could include damage due to natural hazards or intentional or accidental damage, resulting in the property not being economically viable to repair.
Over the next four years, the State Government has committed approximately $200 million to the GROH Program, investing in spot purchases and new builds, refurbishing properties to bring stock back online, and maintenance to ensure stock is maintained to a high standard.
The GROH program continues to source newly constructed housing from private investors, local governments and Aboriginal organisations to meet increasing demand from the program’s client agencies. Additionally, the Department of Communities is working with private developers, Non-Government Organisations and local Shires to explore leasing opportunities to increase the supply of properties available for GROH.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.