The Queensland government has ordered a review of the income limits that apply to social housing residents with the thresholds unchanged since the mid-2000s.
Key points:
- Social housing applicants in Queensland are assessed against an eligibility test, which includes a limit on their income
- The last time the limit was reviewed was in 2006
- Housing Minister Meaghan Scanlon says a new review will be done to ensure social housing eligibility is “responsive to the changing needs of Queenslanders”
Applicants for public housing in Queensland are assessed against an eligibility test, which includes a limit on how much money they earn.
For a single person, the limit is set at $609 per week before tax, while the gross income that a couple with two children can earn is capped at $999 per week – or less than $52,000 per year.
The state government has confirmed the last time the income limits were reviewed was in 2006, when the Beattie government was still in power.
Housing Minister Meaghan Scanlon has told ABC Radio Brisbane that a new review into the limits will now be commissioned.
She said it would form part of her department’s response to a report from the Queensland Audit Office, which made a series of recommendations about social housing.
“I have asked the Department of Housing to review income limit thresholds to ensure social housing eligibility is responsive to the changing needs of Queenslanders,” she said.
“In addition to social housing, we also continue to provide rental grants and subsidies, as well as bond loans to help families and people maintain private tenancy.”
The Housing Department confirmed that 469 applications for social housing were “cancelled” last financial year because the household’s income exceeded the income eligibility limits.
Another 651 applications were also “not approved” for the same reason.
‘Positive’ decision
A department spokesperson said an “ongoing eligibility policy” for social housing tenants was introduced in 2006 to review tenants’ ongoing eligibility for social housing and their need for assistance.
“The department takes a person-centred approach to tenancy management and uses the Ongoing Eligibility policy to ensure public housing remains targeted to those in greatest need,” they said.
The $609 per week limit set for singles applying for social housing in Queensland is less than the Northern Territory’s limit of $955 for urban areas, South Australia’s limit of $766.94, and the ACT’s $825.96 limit.
The $999 per week limit for a couple with children in Queensland is less than South Australia’s $1,533 limit and the Northern Territory’s limit of $1,656.
Queensland Council of Social Service chief executive Aimee McVeigh said the review was a “positive” decision.
“It is absolutely about time that we reviewed particularly the financial eligibility for social housing to make sure that we’re not locking out of the [social housing] register people who are in desperate need of housing,” she said.
“I think it is timely to have a very public consultation about what would make people eligible for social housing.”
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