Public housing increase and more people eligible for rental assistance through government plan
In February the State Government made a number of housing announcements as part of its new plan - A Better Housing Future.
For the SA Housing Authority, the two most relevant announcements were a commitment to increase public housing stock and eligibility updates to the Private Rental Assistance Program.
Public housing stock increase
We are building and upgrading public homes across the State and today we’re committing to increasing the number of homes available by more than 1,100, by:
- Constructing an extra 37 new public housing homes - similar to the one above at Woodville Gardens - under the Government’s $177.5 million Public Housing Improvement Program, bringing the total to 437.
- Stopping the sale of 580 public housing homes that were set to be sold over the next four years, and
- Using an additional $15 million each year to renew and maintain untenanted public housing stock.
This important work is planned to be completed by mid-2026.
Changes to the Private Rental Assistance Program
Some great changes have been made to the Private Rental Assistance Program (PRAP), which we administer.
The PRAP eligibility criteria has been reviewed to enable more households to access this financial assistance, including:
- Increasing the household cash assets test limit from $5,000 to $62,150 per household. This will allow customers on lower incomes to retain their cash reserves (potentially allowing them to be used for home ownership).
- Increasing the weekly rent limit from $450 to $600 per week.
Rent in advance payments will also be increased from one week to two weeks’ rent for low-income households, as well as an increase in the availability of rent in arrears payments, provided other eligibility criteria are met.
Emergency Relief Centres to close as we transition to flood recovery
After months of assisting flood-impacted communities, our Mannum and Murray Bridge Emergency Relief Centres (ERCs) closed permanently at 6pm Tuesday 28 February 2023.
We will now move to support recovery efforts:
- From 1 March 2023, the Murray Bridge Recovery Centre will open at 28 Bridge Street, Murray Bridge between 9am-5pm Monday-Friday.
- From 2 March 2023, the Mannum Recovery Centre will open at the Mannum Institute, 47 Randell Street, Mannum between 9am-5pm Tuesday-Thursday.
Recovery services are also available at the Berri Housing SA office which opened at 29 Vaughan Terrace, Berri on 1 February.
The assistance you'll be able to receive here includes:
- Accessing a number of grants, including private rental assistance and emergency accommodation
- Psychosocial support
- Support for primary producers
- Financial counselling
- Legal services
- Community outreach
A range of agencies will be available through all Recovery Offices, including Australian Red Cross - South Australia, Disaster Ministries, Services Australia , Good Shepherd, the Department of Primary Industries and Regions and the Department for Industry, Innovation and Science.
The Information Hotline 1800 302 787 remains open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm.
A safe place for families in need
A new crisis accommodation has opened in Adelaide’s northern suburbs, offering safe and supportive accommodation for families experiencing homelessness.
The Adelaide North-West Homelessness Alliance (ANWHA) has opened Peppertree Place in the northern suburbs, which is expected to provide up to 32 families a year with an alternative to motel emergency accommodation.
Peppertree Place offers eight two-bedroom furnished homes, with their own kitchenettes and bathrooms, and a communal outdoor area so children can safely play outside.
The initiative is a partnership between SA Housing Authority - who lease the accommodation to the Alliance - and the ANWHA, who provide tenancy support and case management to families staying in the accommodation to enable access to longer-term housing.
This is part of our work supporting the State's homelessness sector, where we partner with not-for-profits, community housing providers and other non-government organisations to help service the complex and evolving needs of clients experiencing - or at risk of - homelessness across South Australia.
Coober Pedy office gets a facelift
In January we opened the building tender process for 133 new public housing homes, including 103 homes in the $177.5 million Public Housing Improvement Program (PHIP).
This tender closed on 28 February, are just part of our plan to build 437 additional public housing homes across SA. 81 of these 437 are already under construction.
A mandate was also introduced in January to ensure public housing will be built with products made in South Australia whenever possible.
More public homes are on the way ... and they'll be built with local materials
In January we opened the building tender process for 133 new public housing homes, including 103 homes in the $177.5 million Public Housing Improvement Program (PHIP).
This tender closed on 28 February, are just part of our plan to build 437 additional public housing homes across SA. 81 of these 437 are already under construction.
A mandate was also introduced in January to ensure public housing will be built with products made in South Australia whenever possible.
