Community Affairs Committee

Senator LUDLAM-What can you tell us about the locations where properties are being built? Can you give us a breakdown between inner city, middle ring, outer urban and regional?

Dr Harmer-I do not think we can give you a breakdown within the cities, but we can probably give you the breakdown between the capital city and the rest of state.

Mr Leeper-We can provide a table, for each state, of the properties which are ready for rent now in the capital city and in the balance of the state-that is, the regional areas. This refers to the 154 properties that Ms Ham identified and the further 676 that will be ready by 30 June. If it would be useful to the committee, I am happy to table that information.

Senator LUDLAM-That would be helpful. I am interested in whether the properties that we are providing for people under the NRAS are going to be on the outer fringe of our cities, for example, or whether they are going to be scattered in different parts of our cities. Dr Harmer-I do not know that we can answer that yet.

Senator LUDLAM-I presume that is data that you are collecting?

Dr Harmer-But at some stage in the future, we will be able to answer that.

Senator LUDLAM-I guess you know where I am going with that.

Dr Harmer-Yes. Sure.

Senator LUDLAM-One of the criteria is access to public transport and so on.

Mr Leeper-Senator, let me give an example. Let me take an example of Tasmania. I could tell you that there are significant numbers of properties, that is, more than 10, in Burnie, Devonport, Huonville, Kingston, Launceston, Midway Point, New Norfolk, so those are definitely outside the capital city area. So out of the 592 reserved allocations in Tasmania, and I will make sure I get my terminology right here, there are quite a significant number which are outside what you would normally identify as the major urban area. That is one example. I am sure there are others. I do not know enough about the other geography, I am sorry.

Senator LUDLAM-That is helpful, and telling a Western Australian these regional Tasmanian towns, I am not sure how much that is going to help me.

Dr Harmer-But soon, we will be able to give you better information about the locations-

Senator LUDLAM-Do you know what I am on about? As in, within particular cities-

Mr Leeper-Western Australia, Senator?

Senator LUDLAM-Yes, go on?

Mr Leeper-Armidale, 94. These are reserved allocations. Ballajura, I do not know where that is, 25; Broome, 24; Midlands, 10; Pinjarra, 35, et cetera. They are by postcode.

Senator LUDLAM-That is interesting. The metropolitan places that you just listed, they are all outermetro. So I do not want to dwell here now, but if you are able to provide for us, either on notice or the next time we are here, within cities, are we essentially just putting low income housing into the fringes or is it being scattered throughout the urban areas? That is the thrust of the question.

Ms Winzar-Senator, we are not able to provide you with that information beyond the suburb location and the numbers in each suburb at this point.

Senator LUDLAM-That is fine. That is where I am heading.

Dr Harmer-But also, if you are interested, as you are, I think, in accessibility to public transport, it does not necessarily follow that if they are in middle and outer suburbs they are not accessible. They may be, for example, on a train line. We probably have not got that level of information, but if that is-

Senator LUDLAM-That gets us somewhere. So moving on from there, did you make any changes to your criteria or the way that you are assessing NRAS properties between rounds 1 and 2?

Ms Ham-No, Senator.

Senator LUDLAM-Did you go back and do an evaluation, or maybe I heard you correctly before, you are not really doing an evaluation of criteria until we have led all the round 2 incentives?

Dr Harmer-As Mr Leeper said earlier, we are going to be doing an evaluation, taking into account feedback we have received from applicants and potential applicants after the second round is complete.

Mr Leeper-In addition to that first document I mentioned, we can table the location of the 150 NRAS dwellings by state and the actual postcode.

Senator LUDLAM-Great.

Mr Leeper-And the reserved allocations, again, state totals, some postcode numbers, but also some named suburbs. I am happy to table that now, if you like.

Senator LUDLAM-If you are able, that is great. How impressed or otherwise were you with energy and water efficiency in the properties that are coming forward?

Ms Ham-Certainly, in terms of all of the offers that have been made to applicants, they needed to get a satisfactory rating against those particular criteria. So certainly, they are offering sustainability and accessibility outcomes. We have made a condition for all approved participants that within three months of the dwelling being made available for rent they will provide a report to the department, using a checklist that we are developing in conjunction with the Housing Industry Association, which will give us detailed information in relation to energy and water efficiency and universal design.

Senator LUDLAM-Great. Are they just being obliged to meet the statutory minimums in each state and territory or are they being expected and asked to go a bit further.

Ms Ham-The assessment criteria are asking them to indicate what they will meet above the standards in each jurisdiction. And the checklist that HIA are developing with us is measuring what is above the jurisdictional standard.

Senator LUDLAM-All right. Thanks. Do you expect that by the next round of estimates, which I think is in June, you would be able to give us a bit more of a detailed breakdown as to how they are performing?

Ms Ham-Yes, we do. The information will have gone onto our funding management system, which will give us better ability to produce the type of information that you are seeking.

Senator LUDLAM-Thanks. I have got a couple more on NRAS. I am presuming you knew I was going to ask about this: the tax protection for charitable not-for-profit organisations. It was left not quite in limbo last year, just enough to get us on our feet. Can you tell us where that is up to?

Mr Leeper-For the first two rounds, the government has made a commitment that participation in NRAS would not affect the charitable status of organisations that seek access to the incentives. The position beyond that point remains a policy matter for the government and we will be doing some work on that.

Senator LUDLAM-Can you describe the nature of the work, because my understanding is that, as of the present time, it is starting to impact the way that community housing organisations are coming forward or not.

Mr Leeper-As I said, for the first two rounds, and we are about to close the second round, that charitable status has been guaranteed. We are very aware of the ongoing issue that needs to be settled, and it is a matter for us to do some work on and put proposals to government. That is as much as I can say.

Senator LUDLAM-Yes. So no expected timetable for an announcement or anything along those lines?

Mr Leeper-No, not at this point.

Senator LUDLAM-Can you give any comfort to the community housing sector? Are you confident? Are you concerned?

Dr Harmer-It is a government decision. It would be very unwise for us to speculate on it.

Senator LUDLAM-All right. Perhaps it was unwise of me to ask.

Senator PAYNE-It was worth a try.

Senator LUDLAM-It always is. Just lastly on the National Rental Affordability Scheme, Professor Disney, who I think we heard evidence from during the committee hearings into the bill, spoke about the need for-I will make this a two part question-as you are trying to bring aboard large institutional investors, about the need for an independent three-person panel to act as an interface between the department and those large investors. Firstly, do you see any sign of investors, superannuation funds or suchlike, taking an interest? Secondly, do you have any thoughts on the merits of a panel?

Mr Leeper-In answer to the first question, I certainly have already been contacted by one representative, indicating that they potentially have a significant institutional investor ready to invest at scale. I have not had the opportunity to meet with that group yet, but it is a good first meeting, so that is a positive sign. On the second matter, we have not established such a panel. It is a matter we are considering.

Senator LUDLAM-You are considering it?

Mr Leeper-Yes.

Senator LUDLAM-I will leave the NRAS stuff there. Thank you very much.