Public housing tensions erupt

Public housing tensions erupt

By Matilda Gould

A Department of Family and Community Services (FACS) bid to crack down on antisocial behaviour in public housing has coincided with the release of a report finding the Department has failed to provide adequate conflict management training to its staff.

The crack-down will require disruptive tenants to prove they have connected with a support service to assist them manage their behaviour, or earn an immediate strike against their record under the current ‘three strikes’ eviction policy for NSW public housing tenants.

However, the report released by the Auditor-General on August 10, found that FACS is failing to provide staff with the resources necessary to provide comprehensive case management to tenants exhibiting antisocial behaviour, especially those with mental illnesses.

“There are no guidelines, templates or frameworks to assist staff to refer and engage relevant services to support these tenants,” it states.

The report continues “[FACS’] management of minor and moderate antisocial behaviour is poor and there is uneven application of FACS’ antisocial behaviour policy across the State…a more

coordinated approach to case managing tenants with complex needs including those requiring mental health services and support [is required].”

A survey conducted by FACS in 2017 showed less than a third of the public housing tenants surveyed reported feeling safer since the strike-based management policy was introduced in 2015, leaving the majority feeling things had either not improved or had worsened.

“The majority of public housing tenants do the right thing and they are entitled to a peaceful home life, free from any fear or disruption caused by a neighbour doing the wrong thing,” Minister for Family and Community Services Pru Goward said in a media release to promote the tougher rules.

“This policy will be welcomed by the thousands of tenants in NSW social housing who respect their neighbours and expect the same in return.”

According to the report, antisocial behaviour can range from disruptive noise and hoarding, to abuse and drug use.

The report acknowledges while FACS has been effective in dealing with severe instances of antisocial behaviour by referring cases to specially trained staff in its legal division, minor and moderate cases are referred to frontline staff who are limited in their ability to resolve the matter due to a lack of resources and competing work priorities.

The report also claimed FACS’ own data on antisocial behaviour in public housing was “incomplete and unreliable” due to a “poorly designed” information processing system that many staff have not been trained to use properly.

The findings of the report were revealed at the close of a tense week in Parliament, during which Ms Goward introduced a bill to amend the Residential Tenancies Act by imposing rental bonds on tenants who cause damage to public housing, and evicting those convicted of rental fraud.

In a statement to CityHub, a spokesperson for the Minister clarified that when determining liability for damage to property, FACS will give special consideration to tenants with disabilities, mental health issues, or who are fleeing domestic violence.

The NSW Greens criticised the Minister’s attitude toward public housing residents and the amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act and called on Premier Glady Berejiklian to step in.

Greens NSW Housing spokesperson, Jenny Leong, said “The Greens call for urgent intervention from the Premier in order to protect public housing tenants, whose safety is at risk due to the incompetence of Minister Goward and the systemic failures she is refusing to address.”

She continued “Housing is a human right, and we need to be treating it in the same way we do health care and education.

“What the Minister should really be doing is reflecting on her own performance and her failure to support tenants struggling with poverty, complex mental health needs and domestic violence,” she said.

Denis Doherty, treasurer of Action for Public Housing, says that the real problem with the public housing system is that it is currently only available to those the government once dubbed the “deserving poor” – pensioners, people experiencing dysfunction, or people with complex mental and physical health conditions.

Mr Doherty asked “What happens when you put a whole lot of dysfunctional people in a restricted area and you give them no jobs?

“It’s a recipe for social discord, and lo and behold, we’ve got social discord.”

“The system we have now is that we create these islands of disadvantage which from time to time get so bad they erupt,” he said.

Action for Public Housing is holding a rally in Hyde Park at noon on Thursday August 16 to petition the government to put an immediate ban on evictions from public housing and invest in more public housing units.

“If you had a social housing system that was bigger and better than what we have currently, and had people who had jobs like teachers and nurses living among people who have mental health problems, then you have the possibility to create community and support systems,” said Mr Doherty.

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