MA Housing opens waiting list for ground-breaking housing project

MA Housing is seeking applications from eligible tenants for 42 brand new affordable housing units.

The Camperdown Project is located in Sydney’s inner-city and is based on the successful Common Ground model from New York.

The units, due to open their doors in October, will be offered to eligible low income households at less than 80% of market rent, under the National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS). Under the scheme, at least one member of the household must be employed and household income cannot exceed $44,128 for a single person or $61,006 for a couple.

This brand new six-storey development has been designed to an award winning 5-star green rating, evidenced by the abundance of natural light throughout the complex. A range of amenities will be located on the ground floor and a 24-hour, seven days a week concierge will service the secure access lobby.

Weekly rents start from $220 for a mixture of studios and one and two bedroom apartments.

As part of an integrated housing model, The Camperdown Project will also provide long-term housing and support for people experiencing homelessness, and is only suitable for people over the age of 18.

If you know someone who is in need of low-cost rental housing, please encourage them to contact MA Housing for more information.

Contact Adi, Brad or Sarah on the MA Housing hotline: 1800 269 672 or visit www.mahousing.com.au for more information.

MA Housing offers new affordable rental housing in Victoria

MA Housing is currently looking for tenants for some exciting new affordable housing properties in Dandenong, Victoria.

The apartments will be offered to eligible households at 80% of market rent, under the National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS). At least one member of the household must be employed. (Therefore units are generally not suitable for those on the social housing waiting list).

Eligibility is determined partly on household earnings. Maximum annual earnings range from $42,718 for a single person to $101,561 for a couple with three children.

The properties
The properties are brand new one and two-bedroom apartments in Hutton St Dandenong. These high quality apartments all have balconies and one under cover car space each. Apartments are just metres from Dandenong Central Business District and Dandenong train station.

Weekly rents range from $200 to $276 per week.

If you know someone who is in need of low-cost rental housing, please encourage them to contact MA Housing for more information.

Contact
Ken Parkin, Senior Housing Manager
Phone: 0439 576 542
Email: ParkinKe@mahousing.com.au

This is a rare opportunity to obtain great accommodation at an affordable price. Units are available NOW and won’t last long.

Mission Australia welcomes rethink on rental scheme cuts

Mission Australia has welcomed the Federal Government’s decision to reverse its planned cuts to the National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS).

The cuts were announced several weeks ago as part of the Federal Government’s response to the Queensland floods.

“Since the cuts were first announced Mission Australia has been very vocal in making its opposition known and we’re very pleased our voice – along with those of many other concerned citizens and housing and welfare organisations and industry – has been heard,” said Mission Australia’s CEO, Mr Toby Hall.

“Full credit to the government - it recognised this was a mistake and was mature enough to back down from its position.

“NRAS is a key plank in the nation’s fight against homelessness.

“One of the best things we can do to bring down the numbers of homeless people is to “turn off the tap” and stop people becoming homeless in the first place – NRAS plays a significant role in doing just that.”

NRAS boosts the supply of affordable rental housing by providing a financial incentive to community and private investors if they charge 20 per cent or more below market rental rate.

“While NRAS has only been in operation for three years its impact is already being felt – in Mission Australia’s case, particularly in areas like Western Sydney.

“This is a good result and once again we congratulate the Federal Government on its decision,” said Mr Hall.

Locking out the homeless to pay for roads, bridges

Oh for $20 million dollars to do some advertising to help the homeless.

It certainly worked for the mining industry.

You can guarantee there'll be no TV ads in outrage that the federal government has decided to strip nearly a third of the money from one of their own landmark homeless policies – the National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS) – in response to the Queensland floods.

We have a huge problem with homelessness and affordable housing in Australia, and we'll never meet the self-imposed targets for reducing it if we keep raiding the kitty.

More than 105,000 Australians are homeless. Melbourne and Sydney are now considered to be two of the most unaffordable cities for housing in the world and we have less affordable housing than any other developed country.

To their credit, the Rudd government and the former minister for housing Tanya Plibersek not only put the issue of homelessness back on the map, they cemented it at the centre of government policy.

They decided that a major part of the way forward was to 'turn off the tap' – to stop people becoming homeless in the first place.

The National Rental Affordability Scheme was a key element in turning off the tap.

The scheme boosts the supply of affordable rental housing by providing a financial incentive to community and private investors if they charge 20 per cent or more below market rental rate.

The fewer homes built as part of the scheme, the more individuals and families at risk of homelessness.

The community services sector was happy with the policy, and more importantly, it is working.

Take Mary for example, who came to Mission Australia after being evicted from her home when she was unable to meet the cost of her rising rent. She and her five children at times sought shelter under a bridge in Western Sydney.

We helped her into temporary housing, provided her with support to deal with a range of personal issues, and worked with her to find a permanent home – which as it turns out was partially funded through NRAS.

Or consider another client, Anna, who had been suffering the effects of a mental illness on-and-off for most of her adult life.

Anna had stayed for short periods in boarding houses, other times on the street and had been turned away by a string of other organisations before she came to us.

But as she explained, all she really needed was someone to help her maintain a stable tenancy.

Thankfully, through NRAS – along with some Mission Australia funding – Anna has done just that.

For the last 12 months she has been in the same safe and stable home. It's the longest she's been in one place for years.

However, then came Queensland's great deluge and the federal government's subsequent plans for rebuilding.

In addition to its flood levy the government announced a number of cuts to help fund recovery efforts – including to the National Rental Affordability Scheme.

The scheme has been earmarked for slashing by nearly a third – from 50,000 homes to 35,000 – to save $264 million over the forward estimates.

The floods across the country have caused immense human tragedy and the nation stood up to help those in need.

Clients at Mission Australia's Brisbane homeless service, Roma House, volunteered to sandbag properties and help with the clean up of inundated homes.

From the first to the last we fully support the need to rebuild and the need to make sacrifices and savings to pay for those efforts.

But is it fair to penalise the weakest in our society by cutting back a key plank in the nation's fight against homelessness?

What rationale could there possibly be to justify taking a roof away from the likes of Mary or Anna to rebuild roads?

An easy target perhaps, but frankly it's unacceptable.

Our most vulnerable don't have $20 million to run a campaign to get this decision overturned. More likely, they'll cop it and sit silently resigned to the fact under our bridges and in our parks.

The government needs to rethink this measure – and if not, the Parliament must correct their error – and put homeless policy back on track.

The men and women of Roma House were willing to pitch in and help their fellow flood-affected Queenslanders.

The question is will their countrymen and women – and our political representatives – help them in their time of need?

This opinion piece appeared in The National Times