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Products and services

The Community and Private Market Housing Directorate works with community housing providers and also the resourcing agencies and other interested stakeholders to develop products and services that meet the needs of those eligible for community housing.

Port Jackson Inner City Supported Housing Program

DCJ Housing has developed a new program providing supported housing in the inner Sydney area known as the Port Jackson Inner-City Supported Housing Program.  The project is aimed at people with high support needs that cannot be met through the existing housing services, including:

  • older people with complex needs;
  • people living with HIV/AIDS;
  • people living with mental illness;
  • young people under 25 years of age;
  • people with a disability; and
  • people vulnerable to homelessness.

Programs and grants

St George Community Housing manages the properties under this program and the 21 support services endorsed in its role of Support Partners to the program.

The Community and Private Market Housing Directorate administers a wide range of programs to increase the resources available for community housing across NSW.

The main programs are:

  • Community Housing Assistance Program (CHAP) - provides the capital component of general accommodation for general and supported community housing.
  • Community Housing Leasing Program (CHLP) - provides subsidies to headlease properties from the private rental market to provide affordable long term housing.
  • Crisis Accommodation Program (CAP) -  assists people who are homeless, or at risk of becoming homeless and are in crisis. Properties are purchased, headleased, renovated, or upgraded and allocated to non-government organisations to manage.
  • Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP) - DCJ funds support services under the auspice of the SAAP.
  • ‘My Place’ Homelessness Initiative - helps homeless people move from the street or crisis accommodation into independent living by providing secure long-term accommodation linked to support services.
  • Port Jackson Supported Housing Program (PJSHP) - provides supported housing to people who are otherwise unable to maintain a tenancy either in social housing or the private rental market.
  • Social Housing Subsidy Program (SHSP) - is a mixed-income model of housing support for tenants with very low, low and moderate incomes. It consists of 255 properties that were acquired by Department of Housing with a 20-year interest-only loan made by the Commonwealth and State governments.
  • Long Term Leasehold Program (LTLP) - provides subsidies to community housing organisations to headlease properties from the private rental market on a long-term basis.
  • Partnerships In Community Housing (PICH) - promotes cost-effective partnerships with not-for-profit organisations such as religious, charitable, non-government, and local government organisations that have a capacity to commit a
  • Boarding house relocation program (BHP) - provides capital properties and leasing subsidies to housing and support organisations.
  • Housing and Accommodation Support Initiative (HASI) - provides community based accommodation where each client lives in his or her own home and where the provision of individual support is provided makes a tenancy sustainable. HASI is a joint initiative between the Department of Housing and the Centre for Mental Health.
  • In addition, private market housing services have been developed to help people eligible for community housing to rent privately where this is appropriate. Some of the products that have been developed to support this are the Tenancy Guarantee program, My Place and Rentstart.

Port Jackson Supported Housing Program

The Port Jackson Supported Housing Program (PJSHP) provides stable, secure and sustainable tenancies for people unable to maintain a tenancy either in social housing or the private rental market, due to their need for additional support. The program is a partnership between registered support agencies, the community housing provider and the tenant.

The program:

  • Provides supported housing to identified priority groups who are most at risk of homelessness and are identified as having medium to high support needs in the achievement of a sustainable tenancy;
  • Provides housing in the inner city Local Government areas of Ashfield, Botany, City of Sydney, Leichhardt, Marrickville, Randwick and Waverley;
  • Improves linkages between housing and support services for the delivery of supported housing;
  • Provides appropriate housing and support services to respond to community needs including through partnerships with community-based organisations; and
  • Contributes towards the development of best practice standards for the community based supported housing management sector, focusing on improved outcomes for tenants.

Target Groups

Priority groups include, but are not restricted to:

  • a person and/or households who require ongoing support to maintain their tenancy and are eligible or who can demonstrate eligibility, for priority social housing assistance
  • a person with complex support needs unable to maintain their tenancy in the absence of support services
  • single people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness requiring ongoing support to maintain their tenancy targeting people with a disability, mental health problem, substance abuse/dual diagnosis or other challenges
  • households at risk of homelessness if supported housing is not provided
  • people that have difficulty in sustaining their tenancy in the private sector or social housing rental market and have a particular specific housing need and a support package.

General Rent Policy

All properties are rented at a market rent, which is indicated in the lease signed by the tenant. Tenants are expected to pay 25% or 30% of their gross income (not including Commonwealth Rent Assistance) in rent payments. The difference between the rent paid by the tenant and the market rent will determine the level of rental subsidy.

In addition, tenants pay 100% of their Commonwealth Rent Assistance as rent.

Tenancy Management Requirements – Intensive Supported Tenancy Management

In order to maintain successful tenancies, the Port Jackson Supported Housing Program has developed an Intensive Supported Tenancy Management model.

Staffing

Port Jackson Supported Housing Program is staffed by highly skilled, specialists, who work in close partnership with tenants’ support providers. The Intensive Supported Tenancy Management strategy means that the Port Jackson Supported Housing Program has a higher housing workers to property ratio than in the mainstream community.

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Last updated: 23 Oct 2019