Key issues:
- Indigenous community housing is of a significant size compared with non-Indigenous community housing, making up 34 per cent of all community housing dwellings, but has specific challenges in the areas of organisational size and capacity, housing standards, remoteness and tenancy management.
- Indigenous community housing cannot be left behind in a national effort to improve, grow and regulate affordable housing provision.
- Asset and tenancy management arrangements must be consistent with mainstream social housing norms, to realise governments’ efforts to improve living conditions in Indigenous communities.
- Tenancy management arrangements must deliver a stable income stream to support effective and ongoing property maintenance.
- The delivery of housing services provides opportunities for more local Indigenous employment in the fields of property and tenancy management.
- Indigenous Community Housing Organisations need secure tenure over the housing they manage, of a standard that would facilitate private sector finance.
- There are opportunities for effective partnerships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous community housing organisations.
- Effective governance of Indigenous community housing may require separation of housing management functions from representational, advocacy and/or other functions.
7.1 Indigenous Community Housing – a situational analysis
According to the 2007 Community Housing and Infrastructure Needs Survey (CHINS) undertaken by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 496 Indigenous Community Housing Organisations were managing 21,850 dwellings, nationally. Two thirds of these are in remote and very remote areas. The apparent decrease in the number of Indigenous Housing Organisations recorded in the 2006 survey is largely attributed to the exclusion of inactive organisations from that count and to regionalisation and amalgamations across the sector.
| Indigenous Community Housing Organisations |
| |
2001 |
2006 |
| Remoteness |
ICHOs |
Dwellings |
ICHOs |
Dwellings |
| Non-remote |
292 |
7048 |
243 |
7510 |
| Remote |
79 |
2522 |
64 |
3616 |
| Very Remote |
245 |
11717 |
189 |
10728 |
| Total |
616 |
21287 |
496 |
21854 |
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Community Housing and Infrastructure Needs Survey 2007.
Governments have provided funding for Indigenous housing through both the public and community housing systems through various arrangements. The Commonwealth provided funding for Indigenous community housing through the Community Housing and Infrastructure Program and Australian Remote Indigenous Accommodation Program where housing was managed mainly by Indigenous Community Housing Organisations.
A review of these funding programs examined the efficacy of the funding and delivery model and sought to clarify Australian and State/Territory Government roles and responsibilities for funding, delivery and accountability and reporting of remote Indigenous housing.
In November 2008, the Council of Australian Governments entered into the National Partnership Agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing (NPARIH), which sets out the responsibilities of the Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments.
The revised arrangements negotiated through the NPARIH provide for:
- appropriate and clear accountability for housing provision to Indigenous communities
- service provision to a standard that is consistent with broader social housing
- funding for ongoing repairs and maintenance with funding to be supplemented by normalised rent collection arrangements
- a contribution to State and Territory Governments towards the administrative costs of delivering property and tenancy management.
State and Territory governments are also responsible for housing delivery in urban and regional areas.
States and Territories have commenced a transition process for Indigenous Community Housing Organisations where the housing is being brought under direct jurisdictional management or where Indigenous Community Housing Organisations are being supported to adopt regulations and standards set for mainstream community housing.
7.2 Size and locational factors
The bulk of Indigenous community housing is in remote and very remote areas where organisational size is relatively small. The 209 Indigenous Community Housing Organisations in very remote areas (42 per cent of all organisations) managed 57 per cent of all dwellings in 2006. These organisations managed an average of 59 dwellings. For all of Australia, around 367 (74 per cent) of organisations manage fewer than 50 dwellings, 80 manage between 50 and 99 and 50 manage over 100 dwellings.33
Remoteness combined with the relatively small scale of operations in this sector place limits on resources, access to expertise and, due to low income rental streams, the capacity of operators to maintain and grow stock.
A report from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute in 200834 found that the degree of remoteness has a direct impact on the viability of Indigenous Community Housing Organisations. This is in the main due to fewer opportunities for skills development and networking as well as higher repair and infrastructure costs impacting on financial viability. One of the key factors in strengthening Indigenous community housing will be to support the development of this sector so that organisations are supported to merge, expand and achieve better economies of scale.
Regulatory requirements, setting financial and housing management standards, have potential to influence this future scenario. To ensure effective service delivery we may need to see the development of larger, regionally based Indigenous housing organisations combined with local tenancy support services.
7.3 The Range of Non-Housing Activities in the Indigenous Housing Sector
The Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute35 found that only 17 per cent of Indigenous organisations delivering housing were specialist housing operators. The remainder provided multiple services and often had a broader community representational role. This was most concentrated in remote organisations. While this enables coordination of housing with other services, it also leads to resources being stretched across a wide range of responsibilities, a particularly problematic situation for many small organisations that already experience resource and governance challenges. For smaller organisations it would be efficient to outsource some of the housing management role.
Transition towards regulatory compliance in this sector will aim for growth in capacity and improved housing outcomes. Impacts on the sector, particularly on the smaller organisations, will need to be carefully monitored and addressed.
7.4 Universal community housing standards
Governments have agreed that the provision of Indigenous housing must be consistent with broader social housing standards and that the investment in Indigenous housing must be supplemented by normalised rent collection and improved tenancy management.
Under the National Affordable Housing Agreement jurisdictions are responsible for social housing standards for all social housing including regularised property and tenancy management standards. This will put robust and standardised tenancy management arrangements in place so that fair rents are set and collected and regular and ongoing repair and maintenance programs deliver longer asset life. These services may be delivered directly by jurisdictional housing authorities or though contracted Indigenous Community Housing Organisations.
7.5 Capacity building and Good Governance
Capacity building across the Indigenous community housing sector must address governance, financial and management viability, as well as consolidation of housing providers.
Many Indigenous Community Housing Organisations require support to strengthen their administrative capacity. The Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute report36 recommended the following specific development needs of Indigenous community housing:
- training to develop staff skills and expertise in asset management plans, business plans, housing management standards, policies and systems
- stronger accounting practices and compliance standards (separate accounts for member organisations to assist in financial tracking; financial controls adherence and accurate reporting)
- improved human resource management
- ensure accountability and reporting obligations are met
- regional housing-related employment strategies to support the employment and development of local Indigenous people
- career pathways for Aboriginal housing officers.
7.6 Secure tenure of housing assets
Indigenous Community Housing Organisations need to have secure tenure over the housing assets they manage. Often, the housing is community owned and key management decisions about the maintenance and repair of dwellings, construction and allocation of new dwellings is hampered by a lack of delegation of powers to the housing provider. These situations also restrict the ability of the housing provider to secure private finance for repair and new construction.
Some remote communities have agreed to lease residential land to government in order that major investments in repairs and new dwellings can be secured. There are options for other communities struggling to manage their housing to lease these assets to State governments for reallocation to Indigenous Community Housing Organisations that have met the relevant regulatory requirements.
7.7 Partnerships across the broader not-for-profit housing sector
Successful partnerships with Indigenous communities and non-Indigenous community housing providers have already led to improvements in the delivery of housing through the outsourcing of housing operations in consultation with affected communities.
For example, Community Housing Limited, one of Victoria’s largest community housing providers has developed partnerships with four Aboriginal communities in regional Victoria. Under these arrangements, Community Housing manages the assets and tenancies and in consultation with the communities acts as developer for new properties. Importantly, these arrangements have led to employment opportunities for community members in administrative, building and maintenance operations.
These and other successful partnership models have potential for incorporating Indigenous community housing into mainstream standards and regulatory systems quickly and effectively, with timely impact on the housing services provided to tenants.
Questions:
How can we build on current efforts to bring standards for Indigenous community housing in line with universal community housing standards?
How would a national regulatory system provide for the specific needs of Indigenous housing organisations?
How could Indigenous Community Housing Organisations access private finance more effectively?
How can we provide greater opportunities for partnerships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous housing organisations?