2017-04-11 P&E Agenda Attachment 1 to Item 1 Housing Needs Assessment

Source: Coast2Bay Housing Group 2015; Noosa Shire Council 2016a (Survey Results); Local knowledge of
Council Officers and service providers.

The Queenslanders with Disability Network, National Shelter and Griffith University (2016)
recently released a housing issues paper relating to people with a disability. The report
highlighted a number of housing issues for people with a disability:

         There is a clear disparity between the vision of group homes and congregate care
          settings8 by providers and people with disability themselves as a model of
          accommodation provision, and the aspirations of people with a disability to live in a
          broader range of settings, including living alone and with people without a disability.
         There is little interest in considering how people with a disability could work towards
          owning their own dwelling despite this contributing to more secure tenure.
         Rental accommodation is unaffordable for people with a disability.
         People with a disability suggested that they felt they had insecure tenure in social
          housing, and were forced into co-tenancy arrangements in social housing.
         There continues to be disinterest from private builders and designers in providing
          accessible housing. The report notes that the housing industry has not changed its
          practices and will likely reach less than 5% of the 2020 target for universal housing
          provision (see below).
         There is an inability by people with disability to afford home modifications and assistive
          technology.
         Some are forced to leave regional and remote areas due to lack of accessible housing,
          disability services and transport.

The commencement of the NDIS in June 2016 is anticipated to increase demand for wider
housing options as people seek housing that is more in keeping with their preferences than
current group home arrangements. Some of the options for providing housing for people with
disability are discussed below.

Universal housing
The term ‘universal housing’ is a broad term covering the range of dwelling design characteristics
which improve the accessibility, versatility and comfort of dwellings for a range of people at
different stages of life. These dwellings might also be called adaptable or accessible dwellings9. It
should be noted that fully accessible dwellings are more costly for the developer, and investors
who have bought off the plans find themselves with a niche market dwelling to sell, or a home
that is totally unsuitable for their lifestyle. The additional cost of incorporating adaptable features
is usually less than five percent of the overall construction cost, and in many cases, the cost is
virtually nil (Bringolf, 2004).



8
    a placement setting that consists of 24-hour supervision in highly structured settings
9
    Accessible housing is generally a purpose built dwelling for a person or persons with a disability. This may
be a new dwelling or one that is modified to suit the user. Adaptations made during home modifications are
not to be confused with "adaptable housing".

Adaptable housing refers to dwellings with design features that are easily adapted at a later date to flex with
the changing needs of the occupants.

(Definitions from Bringolf, 2004.)



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