Social Housing Accelerator funding for South Australia
The Federal Government has announced a $2 billion Social Housing Accelerator fund for social (public and community) housing.
The Social Housing Accelerator payment recognises that housing is central to the security and dignity of all Australians and supports other housing policy initiatives the Commonwealth and States are undertaking. It does not replace Commonwealth funding provided through other mechanisms, such as the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement or the proposed Housing Australia Future Fund.
This Social Housing Accelerator fund is being allocated to States on a per capita basis, resulting in a $135m immediate increase in investment for South Australia to deliver additional social housing.
The funding will be paid on or before 30 June 2023 with the following features:
- Funding to be committed within two years (i.e. by 30 June 2025)
- Jurisdictions having some flexibility in how they improve the availability of social housing, which is intended to be a permanent boost to social housing stock, with housing stock remaining as social housing in perpetuity. This may include new builds, expanding existing programs, or refurbishing existing but uninhabitable stock where it returns to supply
- Reporting from jurisdictions will be every six months, and include money spent and committed, social dwellings made available, built or refurbished and changes to social housing waiting lists.
We are working with urgency to ensure there is a balanced approach in the allocation of the Social Housing Accelerator payment that addresses the immediate social housing needs of the State.
Stamp duty abolished for first home buyers
The State Government has introduced a series of measures to improve housing outcomes for South Australians as part of its 2023-24 State Budget.
This includes abolishing stamp duty for thousands of eligible first home buyers building or buying a new home.
To take advantage of this saving, head over to HomeSeeker SA to choose from nearly 200 affordable properties available for sale right now.
HomeSeeker SA is an SA Housing Authority program designed to reduce housing stress by helping more South Australians buy their home or learn more about how to find an affordable property.
Eligible first home buyers purchasing a new property valued up to $650,000 will have stamp duty abolished, with relief progressively phased out for new homes valued up to $700,000.
Stamp duty will also be abolished for eligible first home buyers on the purchase of vacant land on which a new home will be built valued up to $400,000, with relief phased out for land valued up to $450,000.
All new-build HomeSeeker SA properties and vacant allotments are priced under the thresholds to access the stamp duty relief.
Other key initiatives included in the 2023-24 South Australian State Budget include:
- more rights for renters, including more affordable bonds, a ban on rent bidding and pet ownership,
- the largest release of land for new homes in the State's history, with plans in place to improve infrastructure around these new developments.
- Over 25,000 homes will be built on land at Hackham, Sellicks Beach, Dry Creek and Concordia, Noarlunga Downs, Aldinga and Golden Grove.
Warm up sites key to new Winter Strategy
New Warm Up sites will help some of the state’s most vulnerable people to stay safe from the winter cold under our 2023 Homelessness Winter Strategy.
Central to the strategy is the introduction of grants, now available via the State’s Homelessness Alliances, to support community groups to set up Warm Up sites, where people can go to get out of the cold, have something warm to eat and connect to services.
As part of the strategy, the Alliances will partner with other services - including Human Services SA and local councils - to identify emerging rough sleeper locations and activate Warm Up sites across the state, particularly in regional areas where services are more limited.
Warm up sites could be located in community spaces, like community centres or halls, where people can also access other services and assistance.
They add to other responses like extreme winter weather event Code Blues, where additional shelter is already provided to keep people experiencing homelessness safe and dry in winter.
As always, Homeless Connect SA (1800 003 308) operates 24 hours every day of the year to help connect people experiencing homelessness with assistance.
Students try out trades through program
High school students in the northern and southern suburbs and Whyalla are getting a head start in the construction industry through the Authority’s Doorways2Construction (D2C) program, supporting local kids and local trades.
The Authority provides three houses every year, and has provided 60 empty properties over the past 22 years and many of these students have been social housing customers
The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) developed the program and funds fulltime supervision on site and provides students with the equipment needed.
Maintenance that would normally be undertaken by contractors is included in this program and gives young people an opportunity to try their hand at a trade.
Our staff, like maintenance field officer Denis, love visiting the houses, talking to the students and watching their progress.
"This is easily the best part of my job," Denis said. "It’s great to come here and see them making progress and they are so happy to be here."
Doorways2Construction gives senior students at participating schools a pathway to a career in construction as part of their South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE). D2C combines classroom learning delivered by a Registered Training Organisation and hands-on construction experience gained while refurbishing one of our properties.
The program provides a general introduction to construction skills, worksite safety and career development. The Department for Education funds the Vocational Education Training delivery (Certificate I or II in Construction) at no charge to participants.
Apprenticeship progam kicks goals
Our $5 million 250 Apprenticeships Pilot Program has eclipsed its targets, with more than 270 apprentices engaging in the program.
Launched in 2021, the program provides $20,000 per apprentice over four-year apprenticeships in building and construction trades.
The funding helps employers offset the costs of training in trades identified as experiencing skill shortages in South Australia by the Construction Industry Training Board.
The program has partnered with five Group Training Organisations who employ the apprentices and place them with host employers. Apprenticeships have been offered to diverse South Australians, including young people, women, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and social housing customers.
The program was developed in partnership between the SA Housing Authority and both the housing construction sector and the training sector.
Lead abatement works underway
Reducing lead exposure is an important part of life in Port Pirie, so we're making sure that public housing residents in more than 40 properties in the town have a healthy home environment.
We have recently completed works on the first 10 houses, like the one pictured, which include upgrades to:
- Seal windows and door gaps,
- Cover bare dirt yards with appropriate materials, such as gravel and garden mulch and undercover play areas with synthetic turf, and
- Improving stormwater drainage.
These lead abatement improvements aim to minimise dust entry into homes where children under five-years-old live, and are an important component of the solutions being delivered by a multi-agency Government Task Force.
The works are expected to be complete by 2024.
Staff honour a wonderful Reconciliation Week
What a week this year's National Reconciliation Week was!
Throughout the week, which ran between 27 May-3 June 2023 - our staff held a number of events including:
- The Elizabeth office took the time to think about, then write out, what Reconciliation means to staff, and reading and viewing information about Reconciliation and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.
- Our Murray Bridge office purchased 50 doughnuts decorated with colours of the Aboriginal Flag, handing out the bulk of them to clients who came into front counter. The doughnuts were part of a fundraiser, with 50 cents from the sale of each going to Tjindu Foundation. The Tjindu Foundation delivers community-based cultural education activities for Aboriginal students across SA.
- The Salisbury team came together as a group to paint canvases and discuss and recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.
