Home›Questions on Notice›QoN 5885

❓ Mr. Krsticevic questions the Minister for Community Services about funding and planning for homelessness initiatives, including the 10-Year Strategy and Common Ground facilities. The Minister provides details on stakeholder consultations, funding allocation, and future plans.

AnsweredQoN 5885Legislative Assembly

Asked

10 December 2019

Member

Mr A. Krsticevic

Portfolio

Community Services

QuestionView source ↗

I refer to the media release of 4 December 2019 regarding additional funding for homelessness, and I ask: (a) What is the name of each stakeholder group consulted over the 10-Year Strategy on Homelessness; (b) How many meetings occurred with each stakeholder group which discussed the Strategy; (c) Will the Minister provide a profile of the $71.8m funding over the 10-Year Strategy, i.e. the amount of funding in each year; (d) Will the Minister provide a breakdown of each element of the funding according to the components of the announcement; (e) Have sites been identified for the two "Common Ground" facilities; (f) If yes to (e), what are the sites that have been identified; (g) If no to (e), will the sites be on government owned land or private-sector land; (h) When is construction expected to start on each of the "Common Ground" facilities; (i) When is construction expected to be completed on each of the "Common Ground" facilities; (j) How many beds are expected to be in each facility; (k) What is the annual recurrent cost of operating each "Common Ground" facility; (l) Who will be responsible for the ongoing operational cost of the "Common Ground" facilities and has the state government committed to any funding for these facilities as part of its $71.8m in funding; (m) If no to (l), why not; (n) What is the weekly amount of rental subsidy that will be provided to an individual under the Housing First Homelessness Initiative; (o) How many individuals are expected to receive the rental subsidy on an annual basis; (p) Will the rental subsidy be available for both public and private-sector housing, and if not, why not; and (q) What is the total annual rental subsidy provided under the Housing First Homelessness Initiative prior to the announcement for each of the following years: (i) 2017-18; (ii) 2018-19; (iii) 2019-20; (iv) 2020-21; and (v) 2021-22?

AnswerView source ↗

Answered

11 February 2020

Responded by

Minister for Community Services

Response time

1 days

(a) The following stakeholder groups were consulted on the ‘All Paths Lead to a Home: Western Australia’s 10-Year Strategy on Homelessness 2020–2030’ (the Strategy):
In addition to the stakeholder meetings, the following consultation activities were undertaken to support the development of the Strategy:
Date
Location
Type
Attendees
12/10/2018
Perth Metro
Face to Face Consultation
50
11/10/2018
North Metro - Joondalup
Face to Face Consultation
29
10/10/2018
South Metro - Cockburn
Face to Face Consultation
48
09/10/2019
Great Southern - Albany
Face to Face Consultation
23
27/10/2018
Goldfields - Kalgoorlie
Face to Face Consultation
28
25/10/2018
West Kimberley - Broome
Face to Face Consultation
14
18/10/2018
East Pilbara - Karratha
Face to Face Consultation
21
31/10/2018
Pilbara - Newman
Face to Face Consultation
8
28/09/2018
East Kimberley - Kununurra
Face to Face Consultation
10
05/10/2018
South West - Bunbury
Face to Face Consultation
34
04/10/2018
West Pilbara - Port Hedland
Face to Face Consultation
33
02/10/2018
Midwest – Geraldton
Face to Face Consultation
22
05/11/2018 to 14/12/2018
Online Survey (State-wide)
Online Survey
276 responses
13/11/2018
No Wrong Door Workshop (Metro)
Face to Face Consultation
24
April – May 2019
Directions Paper (State-wide)
Written Submission
54 submissions
Mid 2018 – mid 2019
Lived Experience (various)
One on One Interviews
60 interviews
(b) The number of meetings the Department of Communities (Communities) had where the Strategy was discussed with each stakeholder group is as follows:
Stakeholder group
Number of meetings
Supporting Communities Forum
7
Supporting Communities Forum Working Group on Homelessness
16
The Western Australian Council on Homelessness
5
WA Alliance to End Homelessness
5
Director Generals’ Implementation Group
1
Western Australian Aboriginal Advisory Council
1
City of Perth Homelessness Framework Committee
2
Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Interests’ Multicultural Advisory Group
1
Youth Homelessness Advisory Council
1
(c-d) Allocation of the $71.8 million funding across each component of the announcement by year is as follows:
Component
2019-20
2020-21
2021-22
2022-23
2023-24
2024-25
Total
Common Ground
-
-
$2m
$20m
$13m
$35m
Housing First Homelessness Initiative
-
$6.494m
$6.679m
$6.883m
$7.093m
$7.31m
$34.459m
Online Homelessness Services Portal
$0.25m
$1m
$0.25m
$0.25m
$0.25m
$0.25m
$2.250m
(e) No. Communities and the City of Perth are in discussions to determine the best location for the first Common Ground facility in the central Perth area. The location of the second facility is yet to be determined.
(f) Not applicable.
(g) It is yet to be determined whether the Common Ground facilities will be on Government-owned land or land owned by the private sector.
(h-i) Exact dates will be confirmed once the codesign process has been completed.
(j) The number of beds in each facility will be determined once the sites have been confirmed.
(k) The annual recurrent cost of operating each Common Ground facility will be determined once the size and location of each facility and the intensity of service provision has been confirmed.
(l-m) Communities will be responsible for meeting the ongoing operational cost of the Common Ground facilities. The State Government has allocated $35 million of the $71.8 million to the establishment of these facilities. The amount of operational funding required for each Common Ground will be determined based on the size of each facility and the intensity of service provision. Communities is working closely with the community sector to develop the service model. Operational funding will be sought by Communities in future budget processes.
(n) The weekly amount of the rental subsidy will vary depending on the circumstances of each individual and whether they are in a regional or metropolitan location. The value of the rental subsidy is estimated to be $190 per week for a single adult in the Perth metropolitan area who receives Newstart and Commonwealth Rent Assistance payments.
(o) Approximately 170 individuals are expected to receive the rental subsidy each year.
(p) The Housing First Homelessness Initiative aims to reduce rough sleeping and homelessness by using the private rental market to increase the supply of housing for people experiencing homelessness. The rental subsidy attached to the initiative will only be available for private sector housing as people in public housing are already subsidised by the State. Individuals and families who receive the private rental subsidy will be required to pay the same rent as public housing tenants (25 per cent of household income), with the gap between the rent paid and the market rent to be covered by the private rental subsidy.
(q) As the Housing First Homelessness Initiative is new funding, no rental subsidies were provided under this initiative in 2017-18, 2018-19 or 2019-20.
The total annual rental subsidy provided under the Housing First Homelessness Initiative over the 2020-21 and 2021-22 financial years is as follows:
Year
Funding
2020-21
$2,696,452
2021-22
$2,774,648
Between 2017-18 and 2020-21, Communities also allocated the following funding to the Assisted Rental Pathways Pilot and 20 Lives 20 Homes project for rental subsidies:
Assisted Rental Pathways Pilot
2017-18
$828,710
2018-19
$305,561
2019-20
$178,223
2020-21
$378,000
2021-22
$217,000
20 Lives 20 Homes
2019-20
$231,275
2020-21
$203,775

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