Reports

Is the Victorian Housing Register providing transparency in the process for community housing offers that its introduction intended?

The purpose of this report is to ascertain whether or not the VHR is working as it intended in regards to the process of receiving community housing offers in the case of HAAG’s cohort of older people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. HAAG’s housing workers house approximately 7 people per month in social housing - an umbrella term to mean public housing which is owned by government, and community housing which is owned or managed by not for profit community housing providers. Our workers mainly utilise the VHR and use our contacts and networks within community housing providers to house our clients. In practice though, how many of our clients are being housed in community housing through each process? Has the VHR simplified it and made the process more transparent in relation to community housing providers and how they offer vacancies? This is something the introduction of the VHR aimed to address and this report will focus on.

See the full report here

HAAG State Election Strategy 2018

In November 2018, Victorians go to the polls.  An election provides the opportunity to show leadership about the issues that matter.We know that housing for older people has become a significant problem that needs to be addressed urgently by the Victorian State Government.

 

Retiring into Poverty- A National Plan for Change Report

Older single women are the fastest growing cohort of people experiencing homelessness and most of them have never been homeless before. This paper identifies the underlying systemic and compounding causes of older women’s homelessness, examines the devastating impact of gendered economic inequality and the key policy areas that require attention.

Agenda for Ageing in Victoria

Our organisation supports an Agenda for Ageing in Victoria that will guide practical and timely action to improve the quality of life for all Victorians as we age.

Read the Agenda

Homelessness for Older Aboriginal Women- Student Report

"There has been increasing awareness of the statistics of women aged 55 and over experiencing homelessness in Victoria and Australia more broadly. The 2014 report ‘Older Women’s Pathways Out of Homelessness in Australia’ found that women in this age group may have limited superannuation, minimal work experience and potentially inadequate financial literacy from time unemployed due to caring responsibilities and unpaid labour. Therefore many older single women may be living off welfare payments with minimal savings while renting in the unaffordable and unsustainable private rental market. The 2014 report states that older women are more likely to be the ‘invisible homeless’, both physically and statistically; more likely to couch surf, live in their car or at home under threat of violence than be sleeping rough.    This physical and statistical invisibility means that appropriate and specific services, support, referrals and housing are minimal. It also means on a policy level there is limited government understanding of what is needed to not only support older women out of homelessness, but prevent homelessness or housing instability occurring in the first place. "

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"The older I get the scarier it becomes": Report on Older people at risk of homelessness in New South Wales

"The older I get the scarier it becomes report shows that there has been a 50% increase in the number of older people at risk of homelessness in NSW in the last five years. An insecure and unaffordable private rental market, a lengthy social housing waiting list, a homelessness service system that is not resourced to respond to older people, and poor linkages between the housing and aged care sectors, mean that the odds are stacked against older people. Unless urgent action is taken now, the problem will only get bigger.
 
 

Finding a Suitable Home for Older People at Risk of Homelessness in South Australia

A report released today based on the latest 2016 Census is showing a rapidly rising number of older people at risk of homelessness in South Australia. This research, a partnership between Housing for the Aged Action Group (HAAG) and The University of Adelaide’s Centre for Housing Urban and Regional Planning (CHURP) and funded by The Wicking Trust, has found that a significant number of older people in the private rental market in South Australia are living in housing poverty. 
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Retirement Housing In Victoria Communique

"On 8 June 2017, 24 representatives from resident advocacy groups, universities, industry, ombudsman schemes, government agencies and regulators met in Melbourne at an Experts’ Forum to discuss the future of retirement housing regulation in Victoria. We were also joined by academics and advocates from interstate jurisdictions.

The Experts’ Forum followed the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into the retirement housing sector, which released its final report on 7 March 2017. The Inquiry received 766 submissions and heard from 90 witnesses. The vast majority of evidence was received from residents.

The message to the Inquiry was clear: residents expect change. While many residents generally enjoy life in their choice of retirement housing, many are also frustrated by a system they see as geared in favour of operators. Some feel that instead of prioritising residents, operators are more concerned about satisfying shareholders.

Residents gave evidence to the Inquiry about what they see as unjustifiable exit fees, complex contracts and poor dispute resolution."

See the full report here

Access to Justice Review

The Government has recently responded to the 2016 Access to Justice Review, prepared by the Department of Justice and Regulation.

HAAG made a submission to this review, which included six background papers and related terms of reference. HAAG's submission can be found here.

The Government has accepted or accepted in-part 57 of the recommendations with some being referred to the courts, and the remaining three recommendations are under further consideration.

A copy of the Government response is available at: https://engage.vic.gov.au/accesstojustice

And an overview of the Access to Justice review is available below:

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Rental Affordability Index- Aged Focused May 2017

"Across the nation, the single pensioner household is facing Severely Unaffordable and Extremely unaffordable rents. For the most part, locating in metropolitan areas (which is where one bedroom dwellings are generally available) would require 60 per cent or more of the pensioner’s income to be spent on rent.

Housing pressures on this household type would also be compounded by a number of other pressures, including health care costs associated with aging". 

May Rental Affordability Index Report 2017

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