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ADVOCACY: Requesting and Reporting Maintenance – Part 2, a Case Study

June 12th, 2025

HH has been looking closely at cylical preventative repairs and mainteance, read Part 1 for context.

HH wants to showcase a preventative repairs and maintenance program that is running in the APY lands of South Australia. Over 20 years the government housing provider has made incremental changes to their service delivery and now have a highly functional cyclical repairs and maintenance program.

 

APY Lands. Where Healthabitat was formed. Drawings from the UPK Report. The foundational report to Healthabitat.

 

A Case Study

On the APY Lands the South Australian Housing Authority runs a responsive and planned maintenance program that covers;

  • 371 houses across 10 remote communities.
  • Average maintenance spend per house $10k.
  • 75% planned v’s 25% responsive.
  • Transition from responsive to planned maintenance took 2 years after which no. jobs fixed for the budget increased.
  • 7 year contract with a single head contractor, who engages various subcontractors.
  • Contractor model and economies of scale leveraged with other govt agencies.
  • Responsive repairs reports from tenant requests and via visiting trades.
  • Inspections of work done during monthly visits by Housing SA staff.
  • Nganampa Health Council run the UPK Program employing Aboriginal EHW’s to provide responsive R&M including unblocking drains, yard maintenance, tree lopping etc jobs not requiring a licensed trade.
  • Travel / mobilisation of trades costs 10% of budget.
  • Also covers house vacancies.

Their planned maintenance checks include;

  • 2 x plumbing checks
  • 1 x electrical safety check
    • These checks are done with a simplified trade adapted housing for health survey so common fault areas can be identified and fixed before they become a problem.
  • 3 x pest control sprays
  • 2 x air conditioner checks/service
  • 1 x building fabric check
  • Every second year septic pump out/audit/replacement
  • Special programs – window security screens, screen doors, concrete verandas, enclosing breezeways.

Housing for Health – the Guide

Housing for Health – the Guide’s Toolbox offers suggestions around maintenance and specification information if a housing provider wanted to develop their own maintenance program or tweak an existing system. Click on the image to explore the guides data on flush toilets. The “Maintenance” drop down menu suggests cyclical maintenance and the suggested timing between inspections.

 

Applying this is not a pie in the sky idea, it is being done already, the principles are universal.

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