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NT Government – Solutions to Crowding

November 29th, 2020

Australia

In many remote communities, crowding is a Big Issue. This can lead to increased spread of infectious disease. The Northern Territory Government has now committed to 10 years of funding.

Good start!

HH data from over 9,300+ houses nationally shows that house function, not just new houses, is the key to reducing crowding. HH is encouraged to see money directed towards a mixed approach including repairs and maintenance which accounts for 74% of issues found in houses across the country (HH data).

From the Northern Territory Government’s “Our Community. Our Future. Our Homes”. website;

The Northern Territory Government has committed to improving housing in remote communities with an investment of $1.1 billion over 10 years. The investment is funded through four programs:

HOMEBUILD NT
$500 million over 10 years for the construction of new public housing.

ROOM TO BREATHE
$200 million over 10 years to increase living spaces in existing homes.

REPAIRS AND MAINTENANCE
$200 million over 10 years for repairs and maintenance.

GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE HOUSING
$200 million over 10 years to expand Government Employee Housing to include locally recruited NT Government employees in remote areas.

This is a ten year investment with a focus on local decision making. Local decision making means communities will have input into what housing looks like in their community.

There are 73 communities throughout the Territory and not all communities can be engaged with at the same time – engagement, planning, development of construction contracts, and commencement of works will be rolled-out in phases, in consultation with communities.

While Our Community. Our Future. Our Homes. focuses on a range of housing solutions, the purpose of the initiative is to put people first, not assets. This is done by working closely with communities to identify their housing needs and ensuring the work benefits Aboriginal businesses, leading to job creation and capacity development.

From the Our Community. Our Future. Our Homes. website.

HH has even developed a free to use specification tool for new homes and repairs. This is called Housing for Health – the Guide and includes 30+ years of information and work into a single place. Specifically, HLP5 is Reducing the negative impacts of crowding The Guide offers practical steps to improve house function.

HH hopes to see all works aim to improve house function not just increase house size.