Report on public housing experiences of
people from NESB with disability

Services > Systemic Advocacy > 2003 - HItting the Roof - February 2003

Executive Summary of Issues and Recommendations

This report outlines the issues raised by people from a non-English speaking background (NESB) with disability about their dealings with the NSW Department of Housing (the Department) and our recommendations for resolving them. The recommendations are consistent with the Department's Ethnic Affairs Priority Statement 2000/2002 and its Disability Action Plan for 2000/2002. Most of the recommendations do not require additional resources.

MDAA is aware that the Department is not solely responsible for all issues relating to publicly funded housing in NSW, for example, the Department of Community Services funds agencies to provide supported accommodation for some people at risk of becoming homeless. We are also aware that options other than public housing need to be available for people from a NESB with disability. Despite that, it is clear from our work that people from a NESB with disability are not getting equitable access to public housing and the services provided by the Department. The aim of this report is therefore to highlight the reasons for this and to suggest strategies for achieving equitable access to public housing for people from a NESB with disability.

Issues

With approximately 100,000 people on the waiting list there is not enough public housing in NSW to meet the demand. Many people on low incomes cannot afford private rental housing, especially in areas of high demand, close to services and community supports. Those particularly disadvantaged in finding affordable housing are new migrants without the support of established communities here and refugees with a 'temporary protection visa'.

The experiences of people from a NESB with disability who have approached MDAA for assistance in dealing with the Department demonstrate that we are not getting equal access to the limited public housing available. Case studies illustrate these difficulties and point to the reasons we encounter more difficulties than other people in dealing with the Department. As well as current issues, MDAA is also concerned that some of the housing reforms announced by the Minister in February 2002 will exacerbate the problems they are intended to resolve.

Current difficulties include a lack of understanding and knowledge on both sides: by staff of the Department about the effects of disability or culture on a person's housing needs, and by people from a NESB with disability about the housing 'system' in NSW. This means that applications for priority housing are not approved when they should be, and that people are removed from the housing waiting list unfairly when they disagree with the Department's assessment that its offers of housing were reasonable in their circumstances.

Other issues include:

• complicated and confusing application forms;
• procedural problems such as poor-record keeping and inconsistent practices;
• unfair interpretations of the Department's 'two reasonable offers' policy;
• delays in getting modifications and maintenance carried out;
• intrusive investigations of fraud allegations against tenants;
• unjust effects of the Department's 'good neighbour policy'; and
• privacy problems.

MDAA is not arguing for 'special rights' for people from a NESB with disability: just equal access to public housing. We believe the Department can do more to ensure equitable access within current resource constraints. We would like to work with the Department to resolve the difficulties outlined and we make the following recommendations to achieve that end.

Recommendations	Resources
Department's EAPS Plan and Disability Action Plan
1. The Department should ensure that the initiatives and strategies in its EAPS Plan and Disability Action Plan apply in an integrated way to people from a NESB and people with a disability. Any initiatives applying to people from a NESB with disability should be referred to in both plans and their implementation should be closely monitored.	Staff time
2. The current Disability Action Plan needs to be strengthened regarding mental health. The Department should engage in appropriate and effective partnerships between mental health services, public housing applicants and tenants from a NESB with mental health problems and their advocates, to ensure that these applicants/tenants don't fall through the gaps between services and miss out on public housing opportunities as a consequence.	Staff time
Housing reform proposals
3.The Department should consult people from a NESB with disability and their advocates about the implications of each of the reforms announced in February 2002 to determine the safeguards and supports required before the reforms are implemented, including:· renewable leases, market rate bonds, tenancy guarantees and neighbour aides; and· the support services proposed for the assisted tenancies pilot program and for people who are homeless - support packages should be negotiated with the individual tenants concerned and their advocates.	Staff time
4. The Department should ensure that people from a NESB with disability have an equal opportunity to participate in any pilot of the proposed reforms.	Staff time
Information to clients
5. In consultation with people from a NESB with disability and their advocates, the Department should devise an information campaign to provide information on:· housing options available in NSW; and · the various forms of assistance available from the Department.	Staff time, campaign costs
6. Any future information campaigns by the Department should: · allocate an equitable proportion of funds to provide information to clients from a non-English speaking background; and · include a NESB information dissemination strategy.	Staff time
Staff recruitment and training
7. The Department's employment policy should ensure that staff reflect the cultural and linguistic backgrounds of the community they work with. · To achieve this goal, the Department should actively seek new staff with bilingual and bicultural skills and investigate using the Community Language Assistance Scheme (CLAS) allowance as a mechanism to value and make use of the skills and knowledge of bicultural/ bilingual staff. Until this goal is achieved, the Department should employ Ethnic Community Liaison Officers and Disability Liaison Officers to build knowledge within communities and to assist staff to become more responsive to those communities.	Staff time Staff time, additional resources
8. The Department should give high priority to staff training and staff development. Analysis of complaints by type/ region/ local office would indicate the immediate priorities for training and development.	Staff time
9. The Department should ensure that cultural competency and disability awareness are key components in training programs for all recruits and current experienced staff and are part of the staff appraisal processes.	Staff time
10. The Department should ensure that training courses for Client Service Officers include components to increase skills in identifying and taking into account the effects of an applicant's disabilities and cultural background on their housing needs, to avoid unreasonable offers being made.	Staff time
11. The Department should ensure that training for Client Service Officers explains policies relevant to clients from a NESB with disability, eg, the Special Assistance Subsidy.	Staff time
12. Training courses for the Department's Client Service Officers who interview applicants should cover: the options available for NESB clients with disability who need additional assistance in providing information required to complete their applications, eg, referral to a specialist Senior Client Service Officer; and how to identify when an interpreter is needed and how to use interpreters appropriately.	Staff time
Staffing resources
14. The Department should ensure that adequate numbers of specialist Senior Client Service Officers are available to assist branch office Client Service Officers who are dealing with clients from a NESB with disability.	Staff time, additional resources
Refugee access to public housing
15. The Department should expand the eligibility for public housing to include people who hold temporary protection visas (TPV).	Staff time
Letters, Records, Telephones, Information
16. The Department's letters should clearly set out the changes in circumstances for which applicants or tenants must notify in writing, including change of address or phone number. These requirements could be reinforced by providing a kit of simple colour coded forms for different purposes, eg, change of address; change of income; change in health circumstances.	Staff time, printing costs
17. The Department should keep a plain English, up-to-date summary of a client's record on file, available to clients on request.	Staff time
18. The Department should standardise its style for signing letters to include a signature block with the officer's name typed under their signature and their contact phone number.	Staff time
19. The Department's managers should ensure that telephones are answered by staff or answering machines and that staff return messages from clients and their advocates.	Staff time
20. The Department should implement procedures, eg, a check list, to ensure that staff notify applicants in writing of the reasons for rejecting their application for housing, including priority housing. The reasons should be explained clearly in plain English. Rejection letters should include clear information about the applicant's right to appeal to the Housing Appeals Committee (HAC).	Staff time
21. Where a client has appealed to the HAC, the Department should send them a copy of the internal review report containing the reasons for the decision and indicating the information taken into account by the reviewing officer, before the HAC hearing.	Staff time
Special Assistance Subsidy
22. The Department should increase funding for the Special Assistance Subsidy to clients with a disability to enable them to obtain and remain in private rental housing if this is more appropriate to their needs than public housing.	Staff time, additional resources
Other options for assistance
23. The Department should set up a forum for ongoing consultation with clients from a NESB with disability and their advocates to determine suitable housing options to meet their needs.	Staff time
Application forms and information requirements
24. The Department should provide adequate funding to assist applicants from a NESB with disability to complete the housing application forms. Assistance could take various forms, eg: · direct funding to advocacy groups to assist these clients; and· implementing a joint project with advocacy groups - with Departmental officers visiting their premises fortnightly or monthly to help applicants complete forms; to explain what additional information is required; and to find out the difficulties applicants are experiencing with the application forms.	Staff time, costs of advocate assistance
25. The Department should review the housing application form to simplify the terminology used and clarify what information is required.	Staff time
26. The Department should explain to applicants from a NESB with disability that they will have to provide very detailed information to substantiate their particular housing needs, and the Department should give examples of the kind of information required.	Staff time
27. The Department should develop concrete, relevant multilingual information and resources for housing applicants about disability; rights; services; entitlements; and their requirements, eg, by implementing a joint project with advocacy groups to produce fact sheets for applicants for priority housing, including applicants from NESB with disability.	Staff time, printing costs
Two reasonable offers policy
28. The Department should act urgently on the HAC's suggestion that it implement less drastic penalties for rejecting two housing offers.	Staff time
Modifications and repairs
29. The Department should explore partnerships with agencies who provide individual modifications and adaptations to people with disabilities to ensure that requests for modifications or repairs from tenants from a NESB with disability are assessed by such agencies and treated with the priority they deserve.	Staff time
30. The Department should consult public housing tenants from a NESB with disability to determine the nature of modifications required to accommodate their housing needs.	Staff time
Tenant disputes and allegations: good neighbour policy
31. The Department should ensure that training for officers who investigate fraud allegations includes cultural competency and disability awareness.	Staff time
32. The Department should implement the recommendations in the Tenants' Union of NSW report Unjust and Inappropriate .	Staff time
33. The Department should consult clients from a NESB with disability and advocacy agencies to determine ways to avoid conflicts arising and to provide more appropriate support when they do arise.	Staff time
34. The Department should call estate meetings regularly to discuss general issues of concern to tenants, including tenants from a NESB with disability.	Staff time
Privacy
35. The Department should implement management procedures to ensure that all staff respect clients' privacy in the ordinary course of their work activities.	Staff time
36. The Department should ensure that clients' medical reports and assessments are kept in sealed envelopes and that they are not available to staff who have no reason to deal with the client's file.	Staff time
37. The Department should ensure that personal information about clients (applicants or tenants) is stored and destroyed in accordance with privacy and archives laws.	Staff time