Housing 2041 Policy Media Release from Minister for Water, Property and Housing

TEMPORARY SUPPORTIVE ACCOMMODATION TO PLAY PART OF THE NSW GOVERNMENT
HOUSING STRATEGY

The NSW Government is leveraging vacant buildings and land to deliver
immediate accommodation for people experiencing homelessness as part of the NSW
Government’s first ever housing strategy for the state, outlining a 20-year
vision for better housing across NSW.

Minister for Water, Property and Housing Melinda Pavey said the Housing 2041
strategy and an initial two-year action plan will deliver improved outcomes
immediately and into the future by focusing on housing supply, diversity,
affordability and resilience.

As part of the strategy, the NSW Government is piloting the Temporary
Supportive Accommodation (TSA) which seeks to use vacant land and buildings to
establish transitional housing for people at risk of homelessness for up to two
years while longer term housing solutions are sorted.

“One of the critical aspects of Housing 2041 is the exploration
of how we can better meet the needs of our communities,” Mrs Pavey said.

“For this TSA pilot project, we’ve reached an agreement with Wollongong
Council to investigate the use of vacant buildings and land in the Wollongong
area to deliver a safe home for those who desperately need it.

“As part of Housing 2041, we are developing a TSA Discussion Paper that
will call on other local governments, NGOs and the private sector to come to us
with ideas to deliver additional TSA projects and to meet the Premier’s
Priority of reducing homelessness by 50 per cent.”

Minister Pavey said this Strategy will allow us to better plan and
deliver housing that meets the needs of people in both metropolitan and
regional areas now and over the next 20 years.

The circumstances facing NSW today have influenced the development of
the Strategy. 

“COVID-19 has highlighted significant challenges for the housing market,
including supply and affordability in some regional areas of NSW,” Mrs Pavey
said.

The Strategy and inaugural two-year action plan also features
initiatives to support better housing outcomes including:

• establishing
  a cross-sector Expert Housing Advisory Panel to guide delivery of Housing
  2041 and increase collaboration across Government and the housing sector
• better
  use of government-owned land and information to develop new housing types,
  tenures and delivery models
• strengthening
  relationships with local governments, the community housing sector and
  developers to trial new innovative housing solutions. 

“Collaboration is key to housing success over the next 20 years. 
For the first time the NSW Government will bring together the broad
housing-related expertise that exists in NSW through the creation of the Expert
Housing Advisory Panel,” Mrs Pavey said.  

Minister Pavey said to assist in future planning for the housing sector,
the Government is also announcing a new online interactive mapping tool that
will increase transparency of the State’s property portfolio and encourage
private investment on public land. The Portal allows searches of Government
owned land, and outlines planning conditions on that land in order to
facilitate these temporary uses.

“The Government
Property Index (GPI) provides a free, one-stop shop for information on NSW
Government-owned property and allows industry to put forward innovative
proposals for that land to improve utilisation and benefits for local
communities,” Mrs Pavey said.

“Not only will the GPI
provide transparency and accountability of the state’s vast property portfolio,
it will encourage investment proposals through the establishment of a new
public proposals process.

“We are always looking at
how we can best leverage government-owned land and property
to deliver better economic, social, environmental and cultural outcomes for the
people of NSW.

“Better use of our data will lead to better
decision-making and, ultimately, better housing outcomes for the people of NSW.”

The public, Councils, NGOs and developers can search
for government owned land and put forward innovative proposals to put the land
to better use. This may include TSA or something else, such as additional
community housing.