As Homelessness Week came and went last month, peak bodies have identified a need for at least 6000 new social housing dwellings, per year, just in Victoria.
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In NSW, the number is similar with the State Government planning to build 8,400 social housing dwellings as part of its 2024-25 budget.
Of those, 6,200 are new constructions and 2,200 will replace existing ones.
Amaranth Foundation founder and chief executive, Julianne Whyte said her organisation, based in Corowa, was seeing the unaffordable nature of rentals and associated costs.
Amaranth offers emergency respite and short-term accommodation, but Ms Whyte said that Link2home was the direct service for immediate assistance, information, and referrals to accommodation and support services in NSW.
Amaranth Foundation client services manager, Jessica Cottom said since working in the sector locally, she has become aware of a growing number of people in Corowa experiencing homelessness.
"Alarmingly, I am aware of at least 15 people currently sleeping rough by the river, on the streets, in business doorways, or alleyways; an extremely concerning situation given the recent severe weather our community has endured," Ms Cottom said.
"There is no temporary accommodation available in Corowa. When people are offered short-term housing, they are sent to Albury, more than 45 minutes away.
"This is particularly difficult for those without access to reliable transport, especially given the limited public transport options.
"The NSW social housing waitlist currently stands at between five and 10 years. While Amaranth does have accommodation available, it comes at a cost, as we receive no government funding to provide low-cost or temporary housing.
"Yes Unlimited, the funded service provider for homelessness in the region, is the primary contact for those in need.
"However, their waiting list is two to three weeks for an initial consultation, and they do not have staff based in Corowa, again forcing people to travel to access vital services."
While Amaranth offers emergency respite and short-term accommodation Ms Cottom said something must change, and fast.
"It is unacceptable in today’s world that people are forced to sleep rough and go without fundamental needs such as housing and medical assistance," she said.
"Rural communities like ours are being left behind when it comes to homelessness and mental health services.
“Larger towns and cities have multiple support agencies and facilities to meet demand, but communities such as Corowa are too often overlooked.
"People are struggling, and without urgent action, the crisis will only deepen."
Julianne Whyte OAM (R) founder of Corowa’s Amaranth Foundation.
A new report by the Tenancy Skills Institute entitled The Next Wave of Homelessness: Tenancies At Risk of Failing in the Private Rental Market Report highlights the enormous risk in the private rental market.
Survey data revealed an average of 4.84 per cent of tenancies surveyed were at-risk of failing.
When applying this trend across Australia, the number of people potentially living in at-risk households could be almost three times the number of people experiencing homelessness on Census night.
Research included in the report indicates that Australasian property managers have a positive sentiment towards participating in early intervention to prevent homelessness.
Short term, temporary accommodation is not the answer.
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Monkey Business Images
Member for Indi Helen Haines said housing was a human right and one that the Parliament had an obligation to fulfil.
“That is not said often enough in this place,” Ms Haines said.
“It’s a right that all Australians, no matter their address, no matter their income, no matter their living situation, have somewhere to call home.
“It is absolutely fundamental to our dignity and to our physical and mental wellbeing.
“Across regional, rural and remote Australia people are struggling.
“Ever changing interest rates and declining rental availability are making it so hard for people to find a home.
“In my electorate of Indi, housing is more expensive and less accessible than at any other point in our lifetimes.”
Ms Haines said homelessness was at a level she has not seen in 35 years she’d lived in north-east Victoria.
In 2023 she introduced a bill to parliament, which would have ensured that a fair share of the government’s investment in housing went to the regions.
The bill also highlighted the need to make it easier for local governments to access funding for essential infrastructure like sewerage and drainage, to encourage more housing development.
It didn’t pass but Ms Haines is still calling on the Federal Government to create a regional housing infrastructure fund to ensure funding for critical infrastructure to open the land needed to allow houses to be built.
“This government must do everything it can and use every tool at its disposal to address this crisis,” she said.
“We should recognise housing as a right; we should get on and do it, and we should do it now.”
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