❓ Hon Steve Martin questions changes in GROH data collection since 2017, highlighting discrepancies in reported housing numbers. The Minister clarifies data collection changes occurred in 2018 and 2021, improving data accuracy and reflecting usable properties.
AnsweredQoN 1980Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to question on notice 1787, asked on 30 November 2023 and which the Minister provided an answer to on 19 March 2024, in relation to Government Regional Officer Housing (GROH) numbers, and I ask: (a) what data collection changes have occurred in: (i) 2017; and (ii) 2021; (b) why is "data from 2018 onward not directly comparable to years previous"; (c) is it incorrect to conclude from the answer provided in question on notice 1787 that there were less GROH houses in total as at 30 June 2023 than as at 30 June 2017; and (d) if yes to (c), what other possible conclusion could be drawn?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
7 May 2024
Responded by
Minister for Agriculture and Food representing the Minister for Housing
Response time
4 days
(a – d)
The data changes referred to by the Member occurred in 2018 and 2021, not 2017, noting this was an inadvertent error included in the previous response. The stock numbers provided in that response are correct.
Department of Communities (Communities) routinely assesses its housing stock, including vacant GROH properties to ensure utilisation. Where appropriate, GROH properties that no longer have client agency demand are considered for use as public housing or disposal. For example, in 2021-22 and 2022-23 there were 49 properties transferred from the GROH portfolio to the public housing portfolio.
Communities’ property management system is a live system utilised by staff in day-to-day work. In order to improve the tracking and validation of GROH data, a new end of month report was created in February 2018, and this reporting method continues today. Previously, reports were compiled by extracting data from the live system, ad hoc, to capture point in time data. As a result of this change, data prior to February 2018 is not comparable or verifiable.
Prior to 2021, counting implemented by the previous State Government included ‘handback’ properties as part of the GROH portfolio despite these houses no longer being available for agency use. ‘Handback’ properties are those which have outstanding administrative tasks to be resolved, such as settling outstanding payments or liabilities to property owners. The change to remove these properties means the data now reflects only useable properties actually available for tenanting and therefore the figures are not directly comparable with previous data which included homes that were in the process of being handed back.
The portfolio is naturally expected to fluctuate due to the leased properties in the portfolio. As at 31 March 2024, there were 5,286 homes in the GROH portfolio.
The data changes referred to by the Member occurred in 2018 and 2021, not 2017, noting this was an inadvertent error included in the previous response. The stock numbers provided in that response are correct.
Department of Communities (Communities) routinely assesses its housing stock, including vacant GROH properties to ensure utilisation. Where appropriate, GROH properties that no longer have client agency demand are considered for use as public housing or disposal. For example, in 2021-22 and 2022-23 there were 49 properties transferred from the GROH portfolio to the public housing portfolio.
Communities’ property management system is a live system utilised by staff in day-to-day work. In order to improve the tracking and validation of GROH data, a new end of month report was created in February 2018, and this reporting method continues today. Previously, reports were compiled by extracting data from the live system, ad hoc, to capture point in time data. As a result of this change, data prior to February 2018 is not comparable or verifiable.
Prior to 2021, counting implemented by the previous State Government included ‘handback’ properties as part of the GROH portfolio despite these houses no longer being available for agency use. ‘Handback’ properties are those which have outstanding administrative tasks to be resolved, such as settling outstanding payments or liabilities to property owners. The change to remove these properties means the data now reflects only useable properties actually available for tenanting and therefore the figures are not directly comparable with previous data which included homes that were in the process of being handed back.
The portfolio is naturally expected to fluctuate due to the leased properties in the portfolio. As at 31 March 2024, there were 5,286 homes in the GROH portfolio.
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