❓ A WA parliamentary question seeks data on social and GROH housing in regional WA, including stock numbers, maintenance status, and vacancy rates. The answer provides some data but cites resource constraints and data limitations for certain details.
AnsweredQoN 820Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
(1) I refer to the provision of social and Government Regional Officer Housing (GROH) houses in regional Western Australia and I ask : (a) What is the total number of government housing stock in the below towns. For each location can the split of social houses and GROH houses please be provided: (i) Carnarvon; (ii) Exmouth; (iii) Kalbarri; (iv) Shark Bay; (v) Meekatharra; (vi) Mount Magnet; (vii) Tom Price; and (viii) Paraburdoo? (2) For each of the above mentioned locations, how many houses are currently having maintenance undertaken on them, and of this number how many are unavailable as a result ? (3) For each location outlined above, what is the total number of houses currently vacant? Please include total number then include the split between social and GROH houses?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
9 August 2023
Responded by
Minister for Housing
Response time
6 days
(1)
The following data represents total housing stock split between social housing and GROH housing across the following LGAs – Shire of Carnarvon, Shire of Meekatharra, Shire of Mount Magnet, Shire of Exmouth, Shire of Ashburton, Shire of Northampton, and Shire of Shark Bay.
In the Shire of Carnarvon, there are 345 social houses, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Meekatharra, there are 75 social houses, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Mount Magnet, there are 31 social houses, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Exmouth, there are 118 social houses, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Ashburton, there are 74 social houses, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Northampton, there are 33 social houses, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Shark Bay, there are 39 social houses, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Carnarvon, there are 119 GROH houses, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Meekatharra, there are 50 GROH houses, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Mount Magnet, there are 17 GROH houses, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Exmouth, there are 52 GROH houses, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Ashburton, there are 139 GROH houses, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Northampton, there are 18 GROH houses, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Shark Bay, there are 26 GROH houses, as at 31 May 2023.
(2)
It is not clear what the Member is seeking regarding ‘unavailable’ houses. Communities undertakes two types of maintenance work on its properties – large scale work orders for structural maintenance and refurbishments when a property is vacant, including demolition and redevelopment, and small ‘everyday’ work orders while properties are tenanted, such as fixing leaking taps. The Department tracks the overall figure representing work order requests but has advised that it would need to undertake a manual review of files across individual properties to verify how many properties, and to what extent, have a work order logged. Given the level of agency resourcing required to provide this level of detail, it is not considered to be a reasonable use of government resources. The Member should also be advised that the overall work order figure is a point in time and is constantly changing.
(3)
Vacant housing stock is categorised between ‘returning’ and ‘not-returning’. Returning properties will undergo maintenance on any necessary repairs to be made available and then relet to an applicant on the wait list. Not-returning properties represent dwellings that have been earmarked for a purpose other than reletting to an applicant on the wait list, such as where the property is being considered for demolition, redevelopment, and asset transfer. Properties will not be 'returned' to stock until further assessment has been completed.
Vacancy numbers are always a single point in time number that fluctuates for a range of reasons including maintenance, refurbishments, and redevelopments waiting for relet. Returning properties may be awaiting acceptance of offers from applicants, undergoing minor maintenance repairs or refurbishment prior to new occupants moving in, or undergoing major refurbishment as part of a redevelopment. Where maintenance is undertaken to return a property to service, it is done so that they can be relet in clean, safe and working order.
The following data represents vacant public housing stock for the requested LGAs. The requested vacancy data on ‘social’ housing stock is unavailable as the data for Community Housing properties are externally managed by Community Housing Providers and is therefore unavailable.
In the Shire of Carnarvon, there are 41 properties – 37 of which are returning, and 2 are being considered for demolition and redevelopment, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Meekatharra, there are 20 properties, 16 of which are returning, and 3 are being considered for demolition and redevelopment, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Mount Magnet, there are 4 properties that are all returning, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Exmouth, there are 6 properties that are all returning, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Ashburton, there are 18 properties that are all returning, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Northampton, there is 1 property in total that is returning, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Shark Bay, there is 1 property in total that is returning, as at 31 May 2023.
The management of GROH properties allocated to client agencies is the responsibility of these agencies, including managing the occupancy of dwellings. Over an average 12-month period, up to one third of all GROH portfolio tenancies may turnover – moving from allocated to unallocated, due to normal rotation of staff in regional locations, agencies rotating staff on fixed tenure arrangements, and staff leave, for example maternity leave for regional teachers or police. The below data represents vacant unallocated GROH housing stock for the requested LGAs.
In the Shire of Carnarvon, there are 4 GROH properties awaiting allocation, as at 31 May 2023. 1 property has since been allocated.
In the Shire of Meekatharra, there are no unallocated GROH properties, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Mount Magnet, there is 1 GROH property awaiting allocation, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Exmouth, there are no unallocated GROH properties, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Ashburton, there is a significant redevelopment initiative to repair stock. 13 GROH properties are unallocated, as at 31 May 2023. 9 properties are flagged for refurbishment, 2 properties have since been allocated, and 1 property is being considered for transfer to the State Emergency Service as there is no client agency demand.
In the Shire of Northampton, there is 1 GROH property awaiting allocation, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Shark Bay, there are no unallocated GROH properties, as at 31 May 2023.
The following data represents total housing stock split between social housing and GROH housing across the following LGAs – Shire of Carnarvon, Shire of Meekatharra, Shire of Mount Magnet, Shire of Exmouth, Shire of Ashburton, Shire of Northampton, and Shire of Shark Bay.
In the Shire of Carnarvon, there are 345 social houses, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Meekatharra, there are 75 social houses, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Mount Magnet, there are 31 social houses, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Exmouth, there are 118 social houses, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Ashburton, there are 74 social houses, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Northampton, there are 33 social houses, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Shark Bay, there are 39 social houses, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Carnarvon, there are 119 GROH houses, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Meekatharra, there are 50 GROH houses, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Mount Magnet, there are 17 GROH houses, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Exmouth, there are 52 GROH houses, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Ashburton, there are 139 GROH houses, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Northampton, there are 18 GROH houses, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Shark Bay, there are 26 GROH houses, as at 31 May 2023.
(2)
It is not clear what the Member is seeking regarding ‘unavailable’ houses. Communities undertakes two types of maintenance work on its properties – large scale work orders for structural maintenance and refurbishments when a property is vacant, including demolition and redevelopment, and small ‘everyday’ work orders while properties are tenanted, such as fixing leaking taps. The Department tracks the overall figure representing work order requests but has advised that it would need to undertake a manual review of files across individual properties to verify how many properties, and to what extent, have a work order logged. Given the level of agency resourcing required to provide this level of detail, it is not considered to be a reasonable use of government resources. The Member should also be advised that the overall work order figure is a point in time and is constantly changing.
(3)
Vacant housing stock is categorised between ‘returning’ and ‘not-returning’. Returning properties will undergo maintenance on any necessary repairs to be made available and then relet to an applicant on the wait list. Not-returning properties represent dwellings that have been earmarked for a purpose other than reletting to an applicant on the wait list, such as where the property is being considered for demolition, redevelopment, and asset transfer. Properties will not be 'returned' to stock until further assessment has been completed.
Vacancy numbers are always a single point in time number that fluctuates for a range of reasons including maintenance, refurbishments, and redevelopments waiting for relet. Returning properties may be awaiting acceptance of offers from applicants, undergoing minor maintenance repairs or refurbishment prior to new occupants moving in, or undergoing major refurbishment as part of a redevelopment. Where maintenance is undertaken to return a property to service, it is done so that they can be relet in clean, safe and working order.
The following data represents vacant public housing stock for the requested LGAs. The requested vacancy data on ‘social’ housing stock is unavailable as the data for Community Housing properties are externally managed by Community Housing Providers and is therefore unavailable.
In the Shire of Carnarvon, there are 41 properties – 37 of which are returning, and 2 are being considered for demolition and redevelopment, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Meekatharra, there are 20 properties, 16 of which are returning, and 3 are being considered for demolition and redevelopment, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Mount Magnet, there are 4 properties that are all returning, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Exmouth, there are 6 properties that are all returning, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Ashburton, there are 18 properties that are all returning, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Northampton, there is 1 property in total that is returning, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Shark Bay, there is 1 property in total that is returning, as at 31 May 2023.
The management of GROH properties allocated to client agencies is the responsibility of these agencies, including managing the occupancy of dwellings. Over an average 12-month period, up to one third of all GROH portfolio tenancies may turnover – moving from allocated to unallocated, due to normal rotation of staff in regional locations, agencies rotating staff on fixed tenure arrangements, and staff leave, for example maternity leave for regional teachers or police. The below data represents vacant unallocated GROH housing stock for the requested LGAs.
In the Shire of Carnarvon, there are 4 GROH properties awaiting allocation, as at 31 May 2023. 1 property has since been allocated.
In the Shire of Meekatharra, there are no unallocated GROH properties, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Mount Magnet, there is 1 GROH property awaiting allocation, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Exmouth, there are no unallocated GROH properties, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Ashburton, there is a significant redevelopment initiative to repair stock. 13 GROH properties are unallocated, as at 31 May 2023. 9 properties are flagged for refurbishment, 2 properties have since been allocated, and 1 property is being considered for transfer to the State Emergency Service as there is no client agency demand.
In the Shire of Northampton, there is 1 GROH property awaiting allocation, as at 31 May 2023.
In the Shire of Shark Bay, there are no unallocated GROH properties, as at 31 May 2023.
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