The Road Home cont...
However, while we support the current process we also believe there are some major gaps in the White paper regarding responses to older people that we would like
addressed. The White Paper presents alarming data showing older people had the highest increase of homelessness between 2001-2006 (23%) with a 30% increase in housing stress between 2003-07. However, there are only a few specific initiatives for older people in the Options Paper such as a minor increase in ACHA funding, that had already occurred in 2008, aged care places for homeless older people and commitment to one new specialist facility per year for four years. We commend these initiatives but they only address the needs of the most marginalised group of older people in society, such as those supported by the marvellous work of Wintringham.


HAAG’s main concern is the large group of older people who are in housing stress in the private rental market. There are no specific initiatives in the White Paper to
help this group, even though the Paper refers to them as high in need. The main reason they need considerable support is that they are often on the verge of homelessness.


Our service is witnessing a significant increase in the number of older people who are contacting us about being given rental increases from between $200-$600 a month. These clients are often long term tenants who are suddenly forced out of their home as their rents become completely unaffordable. There are 40,000 aged pensioners in Victoria who rent in the private market who are paying on average more than 50% of their income in rent. Unlike young people, for whom shared private rental accommodation can be an option of choice due to it being a flexible shorter term form of housing tenure, older people generally need long term housing where the rents are affordable on the aged pension. Many of these private rental tenancies are unsustainable in the long term and organisations like ours spend the majority of our time assisting such people to move out of private rental accommodation. We try and assist older people to move to affordable housing in the public and non-profit sectors.


Another Rudd Government initiative, the Nation Building Plan will benefit older people by increasing the supply of affordable housing. As part of the $42 billion economic stimulus package to revive the economy, $6.2 billion has been earmarked for affordable housing projects. This will build 20,000 new public and social housing dwellings, with Victoria obtaining $1.5 billion to construct 5000 homes. 70% of the housing is planned to be built within the next year. This one-off building plan will no doubt provide housing for many older people, but we believe there is a strong case for older people to receive priority in such a scheme.


Yet another initiative we think should be adequately funded is HAAG’s Older Persons Housing Options, Information and Referral Service that we currently operate with limited resources. This service takes calls from the most critically affected older private rental tenants and provides them with advice and assistance to secure better housing outcomes. It is a brilliant service but we need government assistance to sustain and expand it so that all vulnerable older Victorians can access our support. The need for such a service only increases as the forms of housing supply from the non-profit and forprofit sectors continue to diversify and the options become more complex for older people to access. One of our main roles is to help older people in housing stress to navigate their way through this complex range of options and link them with the most appropriate housing services available. To this end we have a strong working relationship with public housing offices, Housing Association staff, up to 350 non-profit independent living unit providers, and are also tracking the development of new housing providers such as Seasons Supported Living, Lifestyle Communities, Garden Villages, Village Life and Sunny Cove Villages.


Interestingly, our service approach is also supported by the British Government who have, in the words of Prime Minister Gordon Brown, decided to “provide a new national information service to make sure that all older people have access to good housing advice” (Lifetime Homes, Lifetime Neighbourhoods – A National Strategy for Housing in an Ageing Society 2008).


To highlight our concerns HAAG has recently held meetings with our members and interested housing and support agencies who will be meeting with state and
federal government representatives about our concerns.

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