Many of these tenants have had longstanding concerns about:
- The complicated process in order to be placed on the transfer list to be moved to a property that meets their disability needs;
- The waiting time between being approved for transfer and the transfer taking place and the impact of this delay on their physical and mental health;
- Offers of unsuitable accommodation once approval has been granted; and
- The overall lack of accessible accommodation available to tenants with disabilities.
In one case, a disability discrimination complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission resulted in the overturning of a decision not to grant a transfer to a tenant. The tenant was approved for transfer to a property that would be suitable to their needs, however they are still waiting for an appropriate offer to be made nearly a year later.
The recent New South Wales Auditor General’s Report, Making the Best Use of Public Housing, revealed that demand for public housing in NSW is outstripping supply and that many of the current properties are not fit for their intended purpose. These findings echo the experiences of RLC clients with disabilities who have not only struggled to have their requests to transfer properties approved but have in many cases had to wait several years for a suitable property to become available even after their request has been approved.
Although Housing NSW’s Disability Action Plan 2009-2013 outlines a number of strategies to increase the number of social housing homes that accommodate the needs of people with disability, there appears to be very little progress being made.
Tenants with disabilities are living in unsuitable housing while they wait for transfers inhibiting their ability to remain active members of the community and to stay out of supported care or aged care facilities.
Maria’s Story
Maria (not her real name) lived in a one-bedroom Housing NSW apartment. She had a number of disabilities and was provided with 24-hour care by her son, John (not his real name). John lived in Housing NSW accommodation close by.
Maria was heavily reliant on John’s help to do basic tasks such as walk up and down the flight of stairs to enter her apartment, cook, clean and get dressed. Maria also experienced great difficulty when showering as the bathroom was small and the shower was over the bathtub and had no safety rails.
Even when John was able to assist her, bathing was still unsafe and placed Maria at great risk of a fall or injury.
These daily tasks took a huge emotional and psychological toll on Maria and John. Maria had lost her independence and her ability to care for herself, while John had to give up work and was constantly worried about his mother falling over or injuring herself when he was out shopping for groceries or running errands such as paying bills.
In 2009 Maria and John applied to Housing NSW to be transferred together to the same property so that John could better care for Maria. After initially declining their request, Housing NSW approved their application after consistent pressure from Maria, John and Redfern Legal Centre. They have now been placed on a waiting list until a suitable property becomes available.
Housing NSW did make an offer of accommodation but the property did not adequately provide for Maria’s disability needs. Until such time that suitable accommodation can be found, Maria has requested that Housing NSW modify her bathroom to suit her disability needs. Before this request would be considered, Housing NSW required Maria to provide them with an occupational therapist’s report that supported this claim. Although Maria provided the report, which supported the need for modifications to Maria’s home, no such adjustments have been made at the time of writing.
Despite the efforts of Redfern Legal Centre, Maria and John continue to wait for modifications to be made to the existing property and for an offer of accommodation that meets Maria’s disability needs to be made. Due to the drawn out nature of this process, Maria’s health has continued to decline and her inability to leave her apartment has had significant impact on her health and wellbeing.
