Western Sydney Housing Coalition
DRAFT Western Sydney Affordable Housing Issues Paper – June 2013
Western Sydney Housing Coalition
DRAFT
Western Sydney Affordable Housing Issues Paper
June 2013
Introduction
Affordable housing is a basic requirement of all people and to ensure that households are free of
financial stress and burden, and that housing costs should not consume a large portion of household
income, it is therefore necessary that the current housing situation in Western Sydney be fully
explored in order to address the lack of affordability across the region. This decline in affordable
housing has led to what can be described as housing stress, that is, those below 120% of the
median household income who are paying more than 30% of household income to meet mortgage
repayments.1
Many are affected by the lack of affordable housing across Sydney; this predominantly includes
those on a low wage including construction workers, cleaners, hospitality workers, waiters, retail
workers, transport workers, community and health workers, etc. It is vital the these key workers are
not lost especially as many are choosing to move away from unaffordable areas in search of more
affordable accommodation. This particularly applies to Western Sydney, where they are vital for the
region to achieve its potential as a driver of Sydney’s ongoing growth.
This paper will therefore explore this issue, assess what is happening and make suggestions about
what could happen to address the need identified. It is produced by Western Sydney Housing
Coalition (WSHC), which is a coalition of local councils, community organizations and volunteers
involved in housing issues in Western Sydney. (Details of the Coalition, including membership, can
be found at the end of this paper).
Much of this paper derives from a forum, “More Affordable Housing, Faster!”, sponsored by WSHC
in November 2012. Its purpose is to generate ongoing discussion on this issue, and to develop
strategies to address it (see Section Two below). It is therefore intended to encourage local groups
to participate in this process, and resource the action plan which will follow.
Aims of this issues paper
This issues paper aims to:
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Identify the current issues related to affordable housing in Western Sydney and the appropriate
actions to rectify these
Highlight the growing and diverse population of Western Sydney, the impact this is having on
current availability and options for housing and how it will affect future accessibility
Identify a suitable approach to manage the growing problem of affordable housing in Western
Sydney whilst being mindful of the community and its social and economic needs
Recommendations this paper will make include:
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Promoting better understanding about the need for affordable housing and to overcome
community prejudice against these types of development
Advocate for provisions in the Affordable Housing SEPP for affordable housing requirements as
part of major developments and that councils are consulted about the management of these
properties
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DRAFT Western Sydney Affordable Housing Issues Paper – June 2013
Advocate for provisions in the Affordable Housing SEPP that support social housing
development in areas not normally zoned for residential flats. However local councils should be
consulted on individual proposed developments
Work with partners at all levels of government, the private and community sectors to facilitate
the improved provision of affordable housing
Encouraging local councils to incorporate affordable housing objectives within their Local
Environmental Plans and DCPs
Investigate emerging funding opportunities and incentives for the development of affordable
housing
Advocate and work with local councils and organisations to improve the security of tenure and
access to services for boarding house residents and tenants of other low-cost housing
Continue to work with boarding house owners/managers and landlords to ensure that they are
aware of their rights and obligations related to health, building and fire standards
Advocate for and support strategies and services by respective local councils that increase
access to employment and training services for low to moderate income households
What is affordable housing?
The term “affordable housing” refers to housing that is appropriate to the needs of a household in
terms of size, form and location and within their means to pay for it. Affordable housing is different to
(but for assessment reasons, it includes) social housing as it:
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Is open to a broader range of household incomes
Calculates rents differently
May have different tenancy terms
Is managed by non-government organisations2
Affordability is generally measured by comparing the rent or purchase price of housing with the
capacity of that household to pay. A commonly used benchmark of affordability for lower income
households is where housing costs are below 30% of gross income. Housing costs therefore must
not consume a large quantity of the household income so that the household is lacking in money to
address other basic needs and costs.3
The largest group of rental affordable housing available for those in the greater region of Sydney
include social housing. This primarily consists of public housing, community housing, crisis
accommodation and Aboriginal housing.4
Prevalence of housing stress in Western Sydney
Housing NSW defines housing stress as those who pay more than 30% of their household income in
order to meet mortgage repayments or rent.
A study on the experiences of mortgage stress in Western Sydney identified two elements
concerning the definition of mortgage stress:
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Mortgage stress and financial stress are related and more broadly are perceived as the same
problem; people who experience either or both do not think of them as separate issues
There is a risk of underestimating mortgage stress by focussing on arrears instead of accepting
a wider more contextualised definition of the problem
The UWS study also noted that people who participated in the study had never or rarely missed a
mortgage repayment. In spite of this they defined themselves in mortgage stress. A second finding
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DRAFT Western Sydney Affordable Housing Issues Paper – June 2013
was that participants were diverse in terms of socio-demographic characteristics – they reported
different levels of educational attainment, different levels of English proficiency and varying levels of
mortgage commitments. The complex variables and uncertainties that in combination lead people to
mortgage stress were also uncovered in this study – relationship breakdown, low incomes and loss
of income are just some of the reasons, which demonstrate the difficulty in establishing direct causeeffect connections for mortgage stress.5
The same complexities are present for people experiencing rental stress. The lack of housing supply
drives up the private rental market which makes it extremely difficult for people on low to moderate
incomes, supported by government benefits or on a sole income to maintain rental payments.
Further, people identify with places and choose to live in an area based on a connection or have
support networks in the local area. It is imperative that greater options are made for those on low to
moderate incomes as many are being forced to look outside of their local area for housing and thus
sever links with support networks.6
The negative impacts of housing stress are associated with negative impacts on lifestyle, quality of
life and mental health. There are numerous consequences for those who are faced with housing
stress and the current lack of supply in affordable housing. These include:
 Those experiencing domestic or family violence may settle for housing or assistance which
places them at risk of further violence;
 Impacts on physical health due to food insecurity
 People may settle for inappropriate and overcrowded living conditions;
 People may resort to poor quality housing;
 People may resort to poorly located housing;
 People with unstable housing histories face increased competition to access the limited supply
of affordable rental housing
 Families and individuals may be faced with becoming homeless and/or remaining homeless for
longer periods;
 Inability to make payments on other bills resulting in severe financial stress and a bad credit
rating
Affordable housing in Western Sydney
The issue at hand is that the current demand for affordable housing in Western Sydney exceeds the
available supply demonstrated by the following:
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An increasing number of people are experiencing housing stress, moreover, vacancy rates are
low, rental prices are rising and demand is increasing
Development of affordable housing including social housing has not kept up with the rate of
population growth across the region. The projected growth will further exacerbate the problem
The current housing boom in Sydney has seen increased housing costs which are beyond the
means of low income earners
The Draft Metropolitan Strategy has estimated that by 2031, the workforce in the Western
Sydney (West, South Western and the West Central and North West sub-regions) will increase
by 313,000 jobs to 1,119,000. This will be highly beneficial to Western Sydney; as one of the
priorities for the Metropolitan Strategy is to boost the contribution to Sydney’s manufacturing,
construction and wholesale industries in Holroyd (and others?) and, increasingly, in the Western
Sydney Employment Area; however, it does not take into consideration the capacity to increase
affordable housing for the future population
Housing targets have also been set in the Draft Metropolitan Strategy and affordable housing
was discussed in the Department of Planning’s White Paper on the review of the NSW planning
system. However, it is unclear what provisions will be in place to encourage affordable housing
development, so this requires further consideration
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DRAFT Western Sydney Affordable Housing Issues Paper – June 2013
Mature family households and emerging empty nesters will continue to increase in numbers in
most of the established residential areas, which reduces the supply of available housing
One of the key issues in relation to Aboriginal housing is that the Indigenous population in
Western Sydney is increasingly growing, and yet little is being done to meet their housing
needs. The housing sector for the Indigenous population is not being assisted to grow in
conjunction with mainstream community housing in the region
In order to meet the needs of low income earners and single person households a greater
number of one bedroom dwellings, boarding house, granny flats and studio type dwellings need
to be provided, and they should be of reasonable quality and well-maintained
There is a serious lack of homelessness emergency relief for those who are in need of such a
service. Organisations that provide emergency relief report being at capacity and find it difficult
to manage the demand for their services
The number of people accessing the Temporary Accommodation service through Housing NSW
has increased across the entire Western Sydney region
Section Two
What can be done to respond to this situation?
The Western Sydney Housing Coalition seeks to address the current affordable housing issues
across Western Sydney so that the people of Western Sydney have access to secure and affordable
accommodation that meets their needs. To date the Coalition has organised several forums that
brought stakeholders together to discuss this issues and identify strategies to address the issues.
Below are the outcomes of the More Affordable Housing Faster forum held on 14 November 2012 in
which participants identified potential solutions to respond to the housing shortage and increase
housing supply.
THEMES
Planning system
Partnerships
Funding
CURRENT SITUATION
 Lack of effective statewide planning
framework that
responds to affordable
housing
 Existing planning
mechanisms do not
encourage new
affordable housing
development
 Subsidise private
property
 Relationship between
public sectors /
community housing
 Diverse stakeholders
 Engage developers
 Partnerships
 Mixed equity models
 Availability of funding
 Bodies
 Overall market
 How to increase
housing stock
 Inadequate tax system
CHALLENGES
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Lobby state
government to
allocate funds
Economic
structures exclude
the poor
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SOLUTIONS
Land cooperatives
Local social enterprise
groups
Policy for % of affordable
housing to be provided as
part of large development in
Western Sydney
Government and private
developers to provide
investment for more
affordable housing
Easier to get housing loans
for low and medium income
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Role of
government
 Subsidy for low
income earners
 Processes
 Policy
 Tax system
 Affordable housing
policy
 The housing market is
driven by an economic
system that leads to
inflation
DRAFT Western Sydney Affordable Housing Issues Paper – June 2013
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Ineffective housing
policy
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Stigma
 Remove community
opposition / stigma
 Perception of what
affordable housing is
 Stigma of affordable
housing stops DAs
being approved at
Council level
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Community to
recognise needs
Opposition to
affordable housing
development
Perspective that
Housing is for
investment /
wealth creation
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Global
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Markets
Examples/solutions/
systems
Supply
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All levels of supply
under pressure
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Investment
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Convince
developers of
viability
Restrictions by
housing bodies
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Commitment
earners ie cheaper and
protected
Advocate to state/federal
government for
state/national housing policy
Mining tax invested on
affordable housing
More support to people with
housing needs including
social housing
Government to prioritise
funding for affordable
housing
Retain public land and
estates for affordable
housing
Involving the public and
local community at every
stage of the proposal and
negotiating process
Greater genuine public
participation in local housing
decisions
Education to raise
awareness amongst
councils and community
Referral services
Information sharing
Make issue relevant to
everybody
Public support for policy
changes
Stronger campaigns to help
understanding and reduce
opposition to developments
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Private citizens willing to
sub-let a spare room to
disadvantaged clients
More funding, land release
and corporate responsibility
More private investment in
affordable housing
Investment incentives
Increase number of
affordable housing
Provide more opportunities
for community housing
providers to borrow and
expand
Stimulus / concessions has
policy to develop % of
affordable housing
Government and private
sector to provide or invest in
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Diverse needs /
groups
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Need appropriate
housing for diverse
groups (e.g. domestic
violence clients,
asylum seekers
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Incentives
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Communication
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Perceptions
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Models
Change
perceptions
Investment should
not be limited
Public support –
campaign
Community
participation in
planning
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affordable housing
Prioritise affordable housing
as a basic right
Housing for shelter not just
revenue investment
Housing as community
Strong local community (e.g.
diverse urban villages)
Mobilise public political
action
Re-introduce SWEAT equity
Limits placed on corporate
power
Profit motive
Empower people to raise
their voice and be counted
Campaigning and lobbying
NRAS funding to community
housing providers
Community housing
leverage off properties
Review tax systems
More clarification of
incentives
Tax breaks to promote
investment
Transfer of titles to increase
stock
Government subsidy to
homeless
Increase CRA
Review private rental
Government at all levels to
communicate /cooperate
more
Review policy gaps
Raise public awareness
Challenge perceptions of
public / affordable housing
Self-governing co-operative
models
Self-sustainable models
Flexible / adjustable housing
stocks
Alternate economics and
politics
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DRAFT Western Sydney Affordable Housing Issues Paper – June 2013
Where to from here?
A. Recommended actions
1.
Promoting better understanding about the need for affordable housing and to
overcome community prejudice against these types of development
2.
Advocate for provisions in the Affordable Housing SEPP or alternative SEPP for
affordable housing requirements as part of major developments and that councils are
consulted about the management of these properties
3.
Advocate for provisions in the Affordable Housing SEPP or alternative SEPP that
support social housing development in areas not normally zoned for residential flats.
However, local councils should be consulted on individual proposed developments
4.
Work with partners at all levels of government, the private and community sectors to
facilitate the improved provision of affordable housing of mixed densities and housing
types
5.
Advocate for the building of new dwellings which are accessible to the needs of the
elderly and people with disabilities and are able to be readapted to a conventional
configuration as required
6.
Ensure that Aboriginal housing programs, including Aboriginal community housing,
obtain a fair share of programs to expand the supply of community, public and
affordable/intermediate housing
7.
Encouraging local councils to incorporate affordable housing objectives within their
Local Environmental Plans and DCPs
8.
Investigate emerging funding opportunities and incentives for the development of
affordable housing
9.
Advocating to Housing NSW to renew their older housing stock to improve amenity in
local areas and reduce stigma about social housing tenants
10.
Advocating to Housing NSW to increase residential densities which are close to
employment centres, pedestrian networks, shopping facilities, parks, service
provision and public transport
11.
Advocate and work with local councils and organisations to improve the security of
tenure and access to services for boarding house residents and tenants of other lowcost housing
12.
Continue to work with boarding house owners/managers and landlords to ensure that
they are aware of their rights and obligations related to health, building and fire
standards
13.
Advocate for and support strategies and services by respective local councils that
increase access to employment and training services for low to moderate income
households
14.
Make submission to the New Planning System for NSW White Paper regarding
affordable housing
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DRAFT Western Sydney Affordable Housing Issues Paper – June 2013
Partner with Australians for Affordable Housing to host a public meeting with federal
election candidates to identify position/commitment to the provision of affordable
housing
B. At the end of the forum, the question was raised, what are our next steps?
Suggestions included:
 To identify and clarify the issues discussed
 Form listening groups to prioritise issues, actions and campaigns
 Form interest groups to work on these priorities
 Establish a feedback cycle to the WSHC
 From this, identify the theme of the next forum (bearing in mind that:
a) Some local groups clusters may already be working on such actions; and
b) There is a Federal election in September – what can we do between now and
then?
This paper has dealt with some of these steps, by summarizing the feedback from interest
groups into the table above. The intention from this is to establish a feedback cycle between
participants and the WSHC, and also to plan a follow-up forum. This in turn will link with
other steps we are taking, leading to the Federal election. These include: a workshop run by
Australians for Affordable Housing on using the media, and campaigning to make affordable
housing al election issue.
This also links to the last two recommended actions from the forum, attached – namely,
make a submission for the NSW White Paper on affordable housing; and partner with AAH
to host public meetings in strategic electorates in western Sydney to consider their
position/commitment to providing ah. Both these actions are now being followed up, and we
will keep those on our contact list informed about these developments.
Appendixes: A Govt. responses; B. Other Initiatives; C. WSHC – associated groups
A. 1. Local council response
Council
City of Canada Bay
Type of project/scheme
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City of Sydney
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Affordable Housing Program guided by Council’s Affordable Housing
Policy adopted on 7 February 2012 – By providing affordable rental
housing; Council aims to assist people earning low to moderate incomes
to live and work in the City of Canada Bay, provide them with improved
rental housing security and enable them to establish savings for the
private rental market or home ownership.
Council owns 24 dwellings located within North Strathfield and Concord
West area, which range from size from one bedroom to two or three
bedrooms. The units are managed by St George Community Housing.
Sustainable Sydney 2030 – City of Sydney Council is working to provide
more housing diversity including more social housing and not-for-profit
housing for those on low to moderate incomes. This strategy is aiming to
have 15% of the city’s housing to be affordable for its residents in the year
2030. This includes 250 new social and affordable homes in Glebe
‘Common Ground’ is a project being run by City of Sydney that is working
to provide affordable housing in order to end homelessness. The project
provides housing to those on low incomes and/or who are at risk of
becoming homeless; it then works to provide personal support and a path
to employment.
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Fairfield City Council
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Blacktown City Council
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Marrickville City Council
Parramatta City Council
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Penrith City Council
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Randwick City Council
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Waverley Council
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DRAFT Western Sydney Affordable Housing Issues Paper – June 2013
The Commonwealth Government has been working toward the National
Affordability Rental Scheme which intends to provide tax incentives for
investors to build up to 100, 000 new affordable rental properties.
Through the Sustainable Development Framework Fairfield City Council
aim to provide an additional 24,000 additional dwellings by 2030 to meet
the demand for smaller, more diverse household types
The Affordable Housing and Homelessness Taskforce was established in
late 2008 and focuses on homelessness, mortgage repossessions and
potential opportunities, options and actions to address these issues
Blacktown City 2025 aims to improve the quality of Department of Housing
stock and estates through advocacy and partnerships with relevant
government agencies and service providers. Lobby the State Government
to recognise the need for new infrastructure and for improvement to
existing infrastructure to accompany increasing demands in housing,
population and employment growth targets set by the State Government
Affordable Housing Strategy 2009-2011 aims to retain and facilitate the
creation of affordable and appropriate housing in the Marrickville local
government area. The purpose is to provide for social, cultural,
environmental and economic sustainability. Anticipated outcomes of the
strategy include: increased stock of appropriate affordable housing for
households with very low, low and moderate incomes; protection of
existing stock of low cost accommodation; and increased community
capacity and participation.
Affordable Housing Policy May 2009 sets out targets for providing
affordable housing for the community. The policy identifies several options
of how this will be provided.
Affordable Housing Demonstration Project(20 dwellings) Council may use
its assets, in partnership with other organisations and agencies, to
develop affordable housing dwellings in such a way that meets the social
need and contributes to strategic asset management priorities
Affordable Housing Planning Incentives – Affordable Housing Bank (100
dwellings) Council may offer bonuses to developers who are willing to
provide affordable housing as part of new developments.
Other Council development projects(20 dwellings – CIVIC Place, 20
dwellings – other projects) Council may incorporate affordable housing
dwellings into plans it already has in place or is scoping for new building
works / alterations to Council owned land and buildings
The Council aims to have 9 new residential areas, 13, 900 new dwellings
in order to accommodate the 37, 000 new residents expected by 2031
A new urban area ‘Waterside’ is undergoing development. It consists of
53 hectares of urban area, 701 projected dwellings and an estimated
population of 2, 150. Currently over 200 lots have been approved with 70
dwellings constructed
Glenmore Park Stage 2 is a residential site with 125 hectares of urban
area, 1, 628 projected dwellings and once complete will have an
estimated population of 4,500
Affordable Housing Strategy and Action Plan 2008
The Waverley Affordable Housing Program (WAHP) is a social initiative to
encourage, retain and enable the provision of affordable rental
accommodation. The WAHP seeks to assist households on low and
moderate incomes who are unable to secure rental housing, and who can
demonstrate a strong connection to the Waverley LGA.
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DRAFT Western Sydney Affordable Housing Issues Paper – June 2013
A. 2. State and Federal government response
Federal Government
2008
Response
The National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS or the Scheme) is a
long term commitment by the Australian Government in partnership with
the States and Territories, to invest in affordable rental housing.
The Scheme seeks to address the shortage of affordable rental housing
by offering financial incentives to persons or entities such as the business
sector and community organisations to build and rent dwellings to low
and moderate income households at a rate that is at least 20 per cent
below the market value rent.
NRAS aims to:
• increase the supply of new affordable rental housing
• reduce rental costs for low and moderate income households
• encourage large-scale investment and innovative delivery of affordable
housing.
The Australian Government is committed to stimulating the construction
of 50,000 high quality homes and apartments (investing approx. $6.2
billion of housing assistance), providing affordable private rental
properties for Australians and their families.
2007
In response to the global financial crisis, the Federal Government
invested a further $5.6 billion nationally to construct additional social
housing and repair existing properties through a Nation Building
Economic Stimulus Plan.
State Government
Response
2013
White Paper – A New Planning System for NSW
2013
Draft Metropolitan Strategy for Sydney
2012
Destination 2036
Department of Local Government
NSW 2021: A Plan to Make NSW Number One
2011
B. Other initiatives: Regional housing groups
Name of Initiative
Response
Western Sydney Housing
Coalition*
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Fairfield-Liverpool Housing
Taskforce
Purpose – see Terms of Reference attached.
Membership – elist of approx 180
Frequency of meetings – quarterly plus working group meetings as
required
 Two major conferences and four forums. See Fairfield Housing
Taskforce website for links to online literature.
Formerly Fairfield Housing Taskforce to Oct 2012 convened with support
from Fairfield Migrant Resource Centre and Fairfield Council. Now
supported by FMRC and Liverpool Council. Meets every 6 weeks.
Fairfield Council Community Cultural Grant project Sense of Home 201112. Homeless Week sleepout `Under the Stars’ planned 20 August. Web
page http://fairfieldhousingtaskforce.com
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Macarthur Housing Coalition
DRAFT Western Sydney Affordable Housing Issues Paper – June 2013
Auburn Housing Taskforce
A network of public housing tenants around Campbelltown, who advocate
for better conditions and participation in processes (e.g. redevelopment),
and to address problems raised by tenants. Meet monthly; approx. 40
members. Supported by Animation, a project of St. Vincent’s de Paul
Society, Campbelltown. Have held a series of public forums; meet with
tenants in local estates; attend annual Shelter conference, and network
with other housing agencies – e.g. Tenants Union, SWRTA, Social
housing Network, UWS Urban Research Centre and WSHC.
More information to be added
Hawkesbury Housing Forum
More information to be added
Macarthur Housing Taskforce
More information to be added
South Western Regional
Tenancy Association
*Members include NGOs and local councils in Western Sydney – mostly Parramatta to Auburn,
Liverpool to Campbelltown. Meets quarterly to co-ordinate activities; have held regional forums on
housing issues; produced issues papers issued to State government, media and members about
the issues discussed, findings and recommended actions.
C. Member organizations
Councils: Parramatta, Holroyd, Penrith, Auburn, Liverpool, Campbelltown, Camden, Wollondilly,
Fairfield, Blacktown, Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury
Housing groups: Wentworth Community housing, Shelter NSW, Western Housing for Youth,
Common Equity, Canterbury & Fairfield Interagency
Other: WS Community Housing, Macarthur Sector Connect
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References
City of Sydney Council. (2009). Draft affordable rental housing strategy 2009-2014
Housing NSW. (2010). Information on Liverpool Housing Market. Retrieved May 2nd, 2011,
fromhttp://www.housing.nsw.gov.au/NR/rdonlyres/7D19180D-32AF-402B-8094364C338D66DC/0/InformationonLiverpoolHousingMarket.doc
Liverpool City Council. (2009). Liverpool Community Strategy
Randwick City Council. (2007). Affordable housing strategy and action plan
University of Western Sydney. (2008). Models of sustainable and affordable housing for local
government. Retrieved May 2nd, 2011, from
http://www.uws.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/164620/models_of_sustainable_and_affordabl
e_housing_for_local_govt.pdf
1
City of Sydney (2008) Affordable Housing Research Paper
Family and Community Services - Housing NSW (2012) Fact Sheet: Renting Affordable Housing
3 City of Sydney (2008) Affordable Housing Research Paper
4 City of Sydney (2008) Affordable Housing Research Paper
5 UWS Urban Research Centre (2010) The Experience of Mortgage Distress in Western Sydney
6 Randwick City Council (2007) Affordable Housing Strategy and Action Plan
2
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