Extract from Chair’s Report CHIA Qld AGM 2020

As 2020 comes to a close and CHIA Queensland’s Board and members plan for the future, one thing is clear; demand for affordable housing in Queensland continues to grow and the community housing industry is well-placed to respond.

One of the biggest challenges over the next few years is the progressive wind-down of the National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS). This could see 10,000 affordable rentals withdrawn from the Queensland market by the end of 2026. The NRAS wind-down will place many lower income households under financial stress at a time when vacancy rates are shrinking and affordable rentals are harder and harder to find. The sector will need to work with government to develop sustainable models of affordable housing supply that can fill the gap left by NRAS.

Even before the advent of COVID-19, it was clear that substantial additional investment in Queensland’s social housing portfolio is urgently needed. Rental affordability pressure across the State has driven up the number of people on Queensland’s One Social Housing Register from 17,000 to 25,000 over the 2019-2020 year. Unfortunately, we can expect to see many more Queensland households in rental stress once the Federal Government COVID-19 support via Jobkeeper and the Jobseeker Supplement is withdrawn in 2020-2021.

Read the full extract here