Housing ACT

OUTPUT CLASS 1: HOUSING SERVICES
PRINCIPAL MEASURES	
OUTPUT 1.1:  PUBLIC HOUSING SERVICES AND POLICY	
Description: 	Provision and management of public housing tenancies and properties.	

Measures 	2004-05
Targets	2004-05 
Estimated 
Outcome	
Quantity			
Number of new public housing applicants housed 1	900	580	
Number of new public housing allocations to Priority Applicants 2	800	500	
Number of public housing tenancies managed	11  200	11  000	
Number of public housing properties managed 	11  530	11  565	
Percentage of public housing tenants receiving rebates 	87%	86%	
			
Quality/Effectiveness			
Number of new/transfers clients visited in 1st three months 3	900	450	
Number of all clients visited during the financial year 	10  640	10  650	
Tenant Satisfaction (as assessed by internal survey) 	> 60%	60%	
Percentage public housing occupancy rate	97%	95%	
			
Timeliness			
Percentage of housing applications processed within 21 calendar days	100%	98%	
Percentage of vacant standard property turnaround under 29 days 4	85%	70%	
			
Cost			
Cost of assessing and administering tenancy applications 5	$1  663  000	$1  559  000	
Cost of assessing and providing rental rebates	$3  879  000	$3  732  000	
Cost of tenancy management	$17  179  000	$16  527 000	
Cost of property management 6	$84  361  000	$81  160  000	
Average rent rebate per tenancy	$6  230	$6  363	
Average cost of public housing (excluding rebates) per 1,000 head of population	
$325  800	
$313  421	
TOTAL COST ($’000)	$107  082	$103  018	
GOVERNMENT PAYMENT FOR OUTPUTS ($’000)	$25  232	$25  792	
Notes
1.	The lower than target number of new public housing applicants housed is due to the reduced number of current tenants exiting public housing, reflecting the tight private rental market.  In addition, properties have been leased to community organisations to accommodate people exiting Supported Assistance Accommodation Program (SAAP) properties as part of the implementation of the Homelessness Strategy.
2.	As noted above, the number of new public housing tenancies is significantly below target and this is impacting on the number of allocations to clients with eligible priority needs.  The proportion of allocations to clients with eligible priority needs represents 82% of new allocations over the quarter and 92% over the year.
3.	As noted above, the number of new public housing tenancies is significantly below target and this flows through to the number of clients visited in the first three months. 
4.	Delays in the earlier quarters continue to be reflected in the estimated outcome.  The main factors were a high number of properties on the Southside where routine maintenance took beyond a fortnight to complete or where there were other processing delays; several cases of delays in resuming properties where tenants had died or transferred to new accommodation; and several hard to let properties, mainly in the large flat complexes or smaller and older properties designated for older persons.  The turnaround times have been steadily improving over the second and third quarters with further improvements expected over the fourth quarter. 
5.	The cost of assessing and administering tenancy applications is slightly below target as a result of delays in recruitment and some under-expenditure in administrative costs, including accommodation, IT and general administrative costs. 
6.	The cost of property management is slightly below target due to the reduced depreciation charges following the re-assessment of the remaining useful lives of the multi-unit properties, reduced water rates, and the under-expenditure in employees and general administrative costs outlined above.

OUTPUT CLASS 1: HOUSING SERVICES
PRINCIPAL MEASURES	
OUTPUT 1.2:  COMMUNITY AND SUPPORTED HOUSING	
Description: 	Provision of support and resources for a variety of community development activities, including community and supported housing (including boarding houses) and specialist housing programs (including community linkages) and housing options for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.	

Measures 	2004-05
Targets	2004-05 
Estimated
Outcome	
Quantity			
Number of Community Housing Program service contracts administered 1	7	13	
Number of service visits conducted by contract managers 2	8	10	
Number of community housing tenancies 3	560	455	
Number of community housing properties 	340	327	
Number of community housing applicants housed 4	150	110	
Number of community housing tenants receiving rent subsidies 	92%	92%	
Number of properties leased to community and other organisations 5	320	360	
			
Quality/Effectiveness			
Funded organisations’ satisfaction with government contract administration (as measured by annual survey) 	
80%	
80%	
Percentage community housing occupancy rate 6	97%	90%	
			
Timeliness			
Contract payments disbursed within contracted timeframes 	100%	96%	
			
Cost 			
Value of payments to community housing providers 7	$10  346  000	$7  097  000	
Value of payments for community development and related housing services 	
$535  000	
$553 000	
TOTAL COST ($’000) 8	$10  882	$7  650	
GOVERNMENT PAYMENT FOR OUTPUT ($’000)	$4  681	$4  450	
Notes
1.	The number of contracts administered is higher than the original target due to the inclusion of contracts for advisory services that were previously not counted.  All active funding agreements with community organisations for the provision of community housing and other services have been included in the results, including peak agencies but excluding consultancies and contracts with individuals such as board members.
2.	Contract managers are undertaking more visits, particularly to community housing associations due to the community housing funding review currently under way.  This funding review will inform the next round of funding arrangements to the sector.
3.	The number of community housing tenancies for the year is below target due to the inclusion in the target properties that were to be delivered during the year, but which are now to be delivered during 2005‑06, including those by Billabong Aboriginal Corporation, Tamil Senior Citizens Association and Havelock Housing Association.  
4.	The number of new applicants housed is below target due to increased client complexity and higher than expected vacancies at the boarding houses, such as Havelock House and Betty Searle House, which is slowing the re-letting of vacant rooms.
5.	The number of properties leased to community and other organisations is above target, as additional properties have been leased to community organisations to accommodate those exiting Supported Assistance Accommodation Program (SAAP) properties as part of the implementation of the Homelessness Strategy.
6.	The community housing occupancy rate is below target due to a higher than expected vacancy rate at Havelock House and Betty Searle House.  In particular, Havelock house has a higher than usual turnover rate as a result of increased client complexity which, combined with tenant involvement in the allocation of new tenancies, protracts the filling of vacancies.  Both of these properties offer boarding house style accommodation, for which high turnover and irregular demand affect occupancy rate.
7.	The value of payments to community housing providers is below target due to the rollover of expenditures into 2005‑06 of several material projects as a result of intensive consultation with the sector protracting the project implementation.
8.	The total cost is below target due to the rollover of projects as indicated above.