NESB Housing Taskforce NSW |
Auburn Migrant Resource Centre, Auburn
Attendance
Rajni Chandran, ECC of NSW; Mark Green, RCOA; Dusko Jakovlejevic, Anglicare; Jasmina Bajraktacic-Hayward, STARTTS; Abeda Iqbal, AMRC; Mary Perkins, Shelter NSW
Apologies
Tessa Bayarante, Ibtisam Hamoud, Alex Burns, Renee Jurd, Peter Ragno, Monica Mazzone, Cheryl Webster, Sue Maddrell
Welcome and introductions
1. Shelter will look after the Taskforce for a year and we will continue to meet at Auburn MRC.
2. We still need to take up with the REI regarding cross-cultural sensitivity and/or anti discrimination training with reference to CALD issues for real estate agents.
3. It was observed that the Dept of Fair Trading has the ability to influence the training package for real estate agents. Seeking the cooperation of the DFT would be an additional strategy.
4. Changes to Department of Housing forms made in July of this year – we will need to seek an update on that. Rentstart forms have been amended with the clause about electricity being removed. We will also need to seek updates on priority forms and the community housing register.
5. No further action on utility deposits has been taken. We should contact Claire Petrie who is the ombudsman for the energy industry. The community education officer from the ombudsman’s office can be invited to the taskforce to speak to members. We need to contact DOCS about EAPA vouchers especially regarding clarification about their guidelines- can these vouchers be used for security deposits? The new HFS package will help visa subclass 202. But we do not know if deposits etc are provided for in the package.
6. Guest Speaker –Peter Elias from the Dept of Fair Trading.
The Dept of Fair Trading has a project titled Thinksmart, which has an outreach component.
The Renting Guide has been in use in its present form for 7 years. A major portion of the tenancy budget has been put into this publication. However this strategy has been largely unproductive. The DFT has been re thinking it. A leaflet of the same name will be distributed to tenants at the beginning of their tenancy and the present Renting Guide renamed the Handbook will be given to frontline workers. This handbook will be produced in only one language although a detailed guide will be available on line in different languages. Decisions regarding what fact sheets are needed still to be taken. The Dept of Fair Trading intends to conduct informal consultations with existing networks to determine what fact sheets need to be produced. Avenues of reaching out to ethnic communities with tenancy education need to be explored. Ethnic communities are very diverse. The DFT has shifted its focus from the Renting Guide, which has proved ineffective to direct tenancy education. It is also aware that the ethnic tenancy market is vulnerable and escalation is always a danger. The DFT needs to acquire a better understanding of what is a vulnerable tenant. The department needs to work with community workers in order to better understand issues of escalation and vulnerability. A research project involving scoping the ethnic website for self help sources in tenancy is planned. The DFT is also interested in scoping the incidence of escalation and discrimination. They would also like to understand the newer communities such as the African communities and issues such as large families and overall issues of access. The Dept of Housing has acknowledged difficulties in housing them. Certain DIMIA policies such as moving new arrivals from on arrival accommodation into more permanent accommodation in 30 days create distress for families. The visa sub-class 204 (women at risk) has special issues/features, which need to be considered. The project researcher will meet with the taskforce. The agencies that need to be involved in consultations with the researcher are: STARTTS, acl, Centrelink, SSC, RHS, CSSS and IHSS agencies, IOA (Anglicare and MRCA) and the Dept of Education. It was noted that tenancy issues in private and public housing markets differ.
Meeting closed at 4 pm.
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Updated 19 August
2004