Despite significant backlash on the Growing and Renewing Public Housing Program, including the policy being called “callous and cruel”, the ACT Government say they did not agree to review the implementation of the policy, contrary to statements from ACTCOSS this morning, 4 April.

The program has been described as “heartless” by ACTCOSS, specifically referring to the forced relocation of public housing residents. The ACT Government’s plan in the project is to redevelop the sites that tenants relocate from, or earn revenue to build more public housing.

ACTCOSS CEO Dr Emma Campbell said the Minister for Housing, Yvette Berry, and the Minister Homelessness and Social Services, Rebecca Vassarotti, met with ACTCOSS on Friday 1 April to discuss the program.

“The Ministers have committed to provisions that protect vulnerable tenants from eviction where it’s unjust. Further, they assured ACTCOSS that anyone who feels that they have been unjustly impacted can contact the Ministers’ office to provide details of their circumstances,” Dr Campbell said.

“In the meeting, we asked to present more than 25 anonymised case studies. However, the Ministers insisted that each case needed to be dealt with on an individual basis and that they preferred to hear from impacted tenants directly.

“Although the Ministers did not put a timeframe on the review, ACTCOSS believes that given widespread distress caused to many of the over 340 people affected, the review should be completed quickly and that new discretion arrangements should be implemented as soon as possible.”

ACTCOSS and other community sector organisations in the Territory wrote to the ACT Government last week calling for an immediate end to all forced relocations, and to introduce an ‘opt-in’ program.

Tenants under that program would be able to voluntarily choose to relocate to an offered property which appropriately suits their needs.

“Once again, we thank the Ministers for their willingness to listen to our views and the views of the impacted tenants. We accept the Ministers’ assurances in good faith,” Dr Campbell said.

However, today Ministers Berry and Vassarotti refuted the claim that they are reviewing the program, saying they’re “disappointed” in ACTCOSS’ announcement.

“I know moving house can be incredibly difficult and stressful. The ACT Government is committed to ensuring that tenants being asked to relocate receive wraparound support services to ensure that their individual needs are met before, during and after the relocation process,” Ms Berry said.

“Housing ACT will continue to work closely with tenants, their support networks and community service providers, as part of an extensive engagement process, to relocate tenants to alternative housing that best meets their housing needs both now and into the future. There are dedicated Relocation Officers to facilitate the process for tenants from beginning to end.

“Housing ACT will support affected tenants to obtain accessible housing, identify individual needs, find the right home in the right area, provide help with moving, and ensure access to any supports needed throughout the process.”

Both Ministers Berry and Vassarotti described the program as “integral” to the ACT Government’s commitment to renew 1,000 homes and add an additional 400 homes to the Housing ACT portfolio.

They said what was agreed in the meeting with ACTCOSS was that ACT Housing would continue to refine and better articulate processes for tenants seeking exemptions from inclusion in the Program, and for the provision of ongoing support, so these processes can be better understood by tenants and stakeholders.

Additionally, the Ministers said they committed in Friday’s meeting to involving additional service delivery organisations in the Growth and Renewal Inclusive Partnership (GRIP) group, and ACTCOSS has declined representation on GRIP “moving forward”.

In response to ACTCOSS’ claim that the ACT Government provided no support to tenants who received relocation letters, Shadow Minister for Housing Mark Parton referred to the initial relocation process as entirely “botched”.

“It has been a compete train-wreck with the government seeking advice from community organisations in the lead-up to the implementation but then completely ignoring the advice,” Mr Parton said.

“Labor and the Greens clearly have no regard for its most vulnerable citizens and have tried to forcibly remove long-term tenants from homes that are in perfectly good condition.”

Mr Parton claims his office was “inundated” with calls and emails from public housing tenants in distress after receiving “harsh” letters from ACT Housing.

“The Labor-Greens Government should be very clear that as the Shadow Minister, I’ll be scrutinising this process very closely to make sure that it [the review] actually occurs and that it provides better outcomes,” he said.

Dr Campbell reiterated that anyone who believes they have been unfairly impacted through the relocation program should contact the offices of:

• Minister Berry – 6205 0233
• Minister Vassarotti – 6207 8975

Ministers Berry and Vassarotti encouraged affected tenants to contact the Tenant Relocation Officers listed on the correspondence from Housing ACT to discuss their needs.

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