A new report by one of Australia鈥檚 largest community housing providers has called for greater funding certainty from all sides of politics, to turn the housing crisis around.
Link Wentworth CEO, Andrew McAnulty, released the Building Brighter Futures Report at a special event at NSW Parliament House (27 November 2024) to mark the organisation鈥檚 40th year providing homes and support to tenants.
The report praises the scale and ambition of the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) to support the not-for-profit sector in creating more social and affordable homes but stresses the importance of long-term bi-partisan funding and housing policy from successive Federal Governments.
鈥淲e must treat social and affordable housing as infrastructure and not a political football,鈥� Mr McAnulty said.
鈥淭he HAFF is such an important funding lever. We must have funding certainty for 2025 and beyond. It鈥檚 taken us a long time to get into the current housing crisis 鈥� and it will require a lot of time, focus, partnership and resources to get out of it.
鈥淭hrough our four decades of service, we have demonstrated not just our capability but our capacity to help people access safe, secure, and affordable housing and the much-needed support to maintain a long-term tenancy,鈥� Mr McAnulty said.
鈥淲ith smart investment from successive governments, through initiatives like the HAFF, and partnering with not-for-profits like Link Wentworth that provide affordable homes and connect residents to essential services, we can build a brighter future for people who need it most.鈥�
Mr McAnulty called for a layered investment approach and long-term housing policy, which does not stop and start with each election cycle.
鈥淔unding and partnering with not-for-profits unlocks a scalable, efficient, and cost-effective way for organisations like Link Wentworth to work with Federal and State Governments and the private sector to provide homes in perpetuity,鈥� he said.
鈥淲e applaud the $6.6 billion record investment that the NSW State Government has already made to tackle the housing crisis.鈥�
New South Wales Housing Minister Rose Jackson said: 鈥淔or over 40 years, Link Wentworth has put the community in community housing provider, and we know how important that tenant experience is to the team at Link Wentworth.鈥�
鈥淔rom the NSW Government’s perspective, we’re committed to doing our part to make sure that the housing needs for the community are met, and we know that we can rely on Link Wentworth to be one of those really valued community housing partners working with us on that journey to deliver more homes that are so desperately needed.鈥�
Link Wentworth provides 10,000 residents with safe, secure, and affordable housing across 6,400 properties.
More than 61,563 households have been identified as being in need of housing in NSW according to figures 鈥� a 6.9 per cent increase since 2022. Only of rentals in NSW are affordable for a single person on JobSeeker or the Age Pension. 星空视频s are scarce, with a September 2024 vacancy rate of across Sydney.
A copy of the report can be found here.
Media enquiries
Eva Gerencer, Chief Communications Officer
eva.gerencer@linkwentworth.org.au
0427 926 588
Link Wentworth wishes to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the Land on which we work and pay our respect to the Elders past, present and emerging, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.