Royal Commission hears about long waiting times for accessible affordable and public housing and models to address homelessness for people with disabilities.

Barriers to securing sustainable housing, including long waiting times and the importance of housing in all aspects of a person’s life, were common themes in day two of the Royal Commission, which is examining the experiences of people with disabilities at risk of or experiencing homelessness.

The Royal Commission heard from three witnesses with disability who described their experiences of accessing housing and housing supports. The first witness, Nik, spoke about her experiences of private rental and accessing public housing in Newcastle, NSW. Nik has a neurological disorder called visual snow syndrome and is legally blind. She also has two daughters, both with autism. The Royal Commission heard that Nik had been living in a private rental property since 2016 until receiving an eviction notice in late 2021. Nik described how difficult it was for her to assess the accessibility of available properties through existing mechanisms such as Domain.com. and the lack of crisis or other housing options that would accommodate both her and her daughter. Nik who is currently living in public housing, after being on the waiting list for a property for over six years, voiced her concerns that her rejection of the first property offered to her because it did not meet her accessibility requirements was considered a rejection of a reasonable offer by the Department of Housing and recommended that this practice be changed. Nik described that her interactions with the Department of Housing at times made her feel that she was in some way to blame for her housing issues. She contrasted this to her experience of interacting with the private rental market. Nik concluded by suggesting that having liaison officers that could work with and listen to people with disability in the Department of Housing, better linkages between the NDIS and social housing and a more streamlined approach to obtaining any modifications required to meet accessibility needs, would improve the experience of people with disabilities accessing the public housing system. The Royal Commission also watched a video statement from Christmas, who lost his job through a workplace injury and is currently living happily in social housing in Sydney, NSW. Christmas spoke of “being in the right place at the right time” during COVID-19 and as a result getting fast tracked into housing. He described housing as the key to everything and called on the government to repair existing housing options rather than demolish them and to make more affordable housing available. The last witness of the day was ‘Claudia’ a young woman with a disability currently living in youth Foyer housing in regional NSW. Foyers are integrated learning and accommodation settings for young people, typically aged 16 to 24 years, who are at risk of or experiencing homelessness. Claudia who has undergone multiple surgeries as result of septic arthritis in her left leg, described a complex family situation and subsequent periods of living in her car and couch surfing throughout her teens, including times when she was recovering from surgery. She told the Royal Commission her current accommodation where she has her own front door, her own keys, and feels safe from the risk of unwanted visitors was the best thing in her entire life, but that she was just ‘lucky’ that place was available in Foyer Housing that was on the ground floor and accessible. Turning to her long-term housing options, Claudia spoke of the struggle to find affordable housing and a likely further five-year wait before an accessible property becomes available in her region. Claudia read a very powerful closing statement to the Commission that described her hopes for a home that she can live in safely and securely with her partner ‘Jean’ that would enable her to support her younger brother who has a disability and most importantly provide a sense of ‘security and peace’. The Royal Commission also heard from a panel consisting of representatives from Homelessness NSW, NEAMI and Mission Australia. Counsel Assisting asked the panel to consider four topics: the visibility of people with disability with homelessness including in specialist homeless services (SHS); barriers preventing people with disabilities exiting homelessness; current models and best practice, both in Australia and overseas, that address these barriers; and their vision of the future for housing and homelessness for people with disability.Key messages from panel members included the need for better data collection that supports both funders and providers of homelessness and support services to better plan and develop services to respond to people with disability. Siloed service systems along with the critical lack affordable, accessible long-term housing options were highlighted as significant barriers to people with disabilities exiting homelessness.The panel identified several promising models that are currently operating in Australia and overseas, including the Housing First, Housing and Accommodation Support Initiative and the End Street Sleeping Collaboration. This collaboration brings together governments, non-government organisations, philanthropists, business, and the community in NSW with a focus on shaping service systems that prevent and address the causes of homelessness. However, panel members noted that funding needed to be both flexible and driven by the needs of people with disabilities and long term in order to enable these and other successful models to be scaled nationally. Panel members ended describing their vision for the future, agreeing that this needs to start with believing that homelessness should not be seen as inevitable but preventable. Echoing the hopes of witnesses with live experience, they called for investment in affordable, accessible, well located housing options, established pathways out of poverty, and holistic models of support aimed at early intervention and prevention of homelessness for people with disabilities. On day three the Royal Commission will hear from representatives from the Department of Social Services, NSW Communities and Justice, and the NDIA.