New standards for community housing sector
Minister for Housing, Tanya Plibersek, and Community Housing Federation of Australia executive director, Carol Croce, have released the third edition of the National Community Housing Standards Manual, which outlines benchmarks for good practice in community-managed housing.
Ms Plibersek said the revised standards were the result of extensive Australia-wide consultation and were reviewed to reflect developments in the sector.
“The National Community Housing Standards Manual provides an up-to-date nationally consistent framework for community housing which addresses issues concerning good governance, tenant services and improved asset management,” Ms Plibersek said.
“New direction on property portfolio management will give community housing property managers comprehensive guidance on what is required in their asset management strategy.
“Environmental sustainability has also become much more important to the public and the sector since the standards were last reviewed in 2002.”
Ms Croce said changes to existing standards around tenant participation, the complaints and appeals process, and business and financial planning will lead to a higher standard of service delivery across the sector, giving tenants better quality housing.
“Under the revised standards, tenants will be given more avenues to engage with property managers through such means as tenants’ associations, working groups and representative forums,” Ms Croce said.
The community housing sector increased by a third between 2003 and 2008, demonstrating the ability of not-for-profit providers to build more homes when working with finance, developers and other commercial partners than would have been possible through government grants alone.
“The standards were last reviewed in 2002, so this review was very timely given the growth in the social housing sector in recent years,” Ms Plibersek said.
