❓ Hon Steve Martin asks about public housing waitlist statistics, specifically successful housing applications and those waiting over three years. The Minister provides some data on public housing occupations but states that the specific data requested is unavailable due to system limitations and resource constraints.
AnsweredQoN 1791Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the public housing waitlist, and I ask: (a) for each of the following years, how many applications, representing how many individuals, were successfully housed: (i) 2017-18; (ii) 2018-19; (iii) 2019-20; (iv) 2020-21; (v) 2021-22; and (vi) 2022-23; and (b) for each of the years in (a), how many applications, representing how many individuals, had been on the waitlist for three years or more?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
27 February 2024
Responded by
Minister for Agriculture and Food representing the Minister for Housing
Response time
2 days
(a)
The Department of Communities (Communities) provides multiple pathways, including public rental housing, to those unable to obtain adequate and appropriate housing through the private sector. It should be noted that most applicants have a roof over their head while they wait to be housed.
A tight private rental market will reflect an increase in the number of applications for social housing. Many people who may be otherwise housed, may seek the safety net of public housing when there is significant pressure in the private rental market.
As with many parts of the housing market, the COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on occupations as people remained in their tenancies. However, post COVID-19 public housing occupations have increased by over 34%. The State Government continues to accelerate social housing delivery through a diverse range of reforms including the modular build, timber frame, and spot purchasing programs.
Public Housing Statewide Occupations as at 30 June
Financial Year
Wait Turn & Priority
(using PHWT Date)
Priority ONLY
(using Priority Date)
Number of Occupations
Number of Occupations
2017-18
3,511
1,445
2018-19
2,786
1,323
2019-20
2,721
1,398
2020-21
1,758
1,026
2021-22
1,963
1,342
2022-23
2,643
1,820
The requested data for number of individuals housed for all financial years is not available due to system changes and would require a manual review of individual files which is considered an unreasonable use of government resources.
(b)
The requested data is not captured in this format and therefore it is unable to be provided. Should the Member have a more specific question, the Minister will endeavour to provide a response.
The Department of Communities (Communities) provides multiple pathways, including public rental housing, to those unable to obtain adequate and appropriate housing through the private sector. It should be noted that most applicants have a roof over their head while they wait to be housed.
A tight private rental market will reflect an increase in the number of applications for social housing. Many people who may be otherwise housed, may seek the safety net of public housing when there is significant pressure in the private rental market.
As with many parts of the housing market, the COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on occupations as people remained in their tenancies. However, post COVID-19 public housing occupations have increased by over 34%. The State Government continues to accelerate social housing delivery through a diverse range of reforms including the modular build, timber frame, and spot purchasing programs.
Public Housing Statewide Occupations as at 30 June
Financial Year
Wait Turn & Priority
(using PHWT Date)
Priority ONLY
(using Priority Date)
Number of Occupations
Number of Occupations
2017-18
3,511
1,445
2018-19
2,786
1,323
2019-20
2,721
1,398
2020-21
1,758
1,026
2021-22
1,963
1,342
2022-23
2,643
1,820
The requested data for number of individuals housed for all financial years is not available due to system changes and would require a manual review of individual files which is considered an unreasonable use of government resources.
(b)
The requested data is not captured in this format and therefore it is unable to be provided. Should the Member have a more specific question, the Minister will endeavour to provide a response.
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.