WA Lags On Homes Program

The Western Australian government is missing a tremendous opportunity offered by the Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) program under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

This leaves it lagging behind the rest of the nation and leaves people with significant disability marooned in ageing government group homes.

Government owned group homes form part of the state government’s Community Disability Housing Program (CDHP) operated via the Department of Communities (DoC).  They generally comprise older or institutional style disability accommodation.  The majority of Government group homes are recognised as being near the end of their functional lives as disability accommodation or may no longer be fit for purpose in comparison to community expectations and best practice.

The intent of SDA funding is to encourage replacement of these homes across Australia by leveraging the capital and development capability of the private sector.  It is a game changer for people with disability and, through its market return, has attracted significant volumes of institutional capital and private development capability, anxious to play a role in building new SDA homes in WA.

Notwithstanding an announcement to the contrary in December 2020, two years later WA is the only state not to have enrolled any of its group homes as SDA under the NDIS.  Other states, such as Victoria, began this journey as early as 2016 when the scheme was introduced.

Whether or not the State Government enrols its homes in SDA is a moot point for me.  What is more important is to understand that, through its ownership of these group homes, the WA Government accommodates the majority of SDA eligible participants in WA (i.e. future SDA demand).  It therefore has a significant influence on the speed and efficiency of how the SDA market in WA will develop.  Yet, we are less clear today on the WA government’s strategy than we were two years ago when the government made its announcement.

There are other hurdles to the SDA roll-out in WA.  Not-for-profit disability support providers are often the caretakers of these homes (not to mention highly influential in conversations with participants about the opportunities offered by SDA).  The current SDA scheme does not support them to facilitate the transition of their participants from existing group homes to replacement SDA.  In fact, in some cases, it actively penalises them by imposing market rent on what have otherwise been peppercorn leases.

Also, the WA legislative framework remains blind to SDA, resulting in some sometimes quite unorthodox arrangements between financiers, developers, and providers’ intent on jumping through the hoops to bring product to market.

The ultimate effect of the lack of decisive action by the State government and the justifiable reluctance of support providers is that the rollout of the SDA program is well behind the rest of Australia.

What is lost is an opportunity, not just for people with disability, developers and institutional capital, but also for the State Government.  Ultimately, the faster WA’s group homes are replaced by new (federally funded and fit for purpose) SDA, the faster the government can take back and reuse the older homes to take pressure off its growing social housing wait list.  It is worth noting here that many people on the social housing waitlist have disabilities which require accessible housing, but which are not so severe as to render them eligible for SDA.  Many current homes in the government’s social housing stock are not accessible and these groups homes could play an important role in re-homing them.

Social Housing and housing affordability will continue to be a significant challenge for Government, and they need the private sector's help to reverse what is becoming a growing problem.  Despite the State Government allocating record funding to boost housing and homelessness in WA,  greater coordination is clearly required across government at policy, Ministerial and strategic levels to leverage a very willing and able private sector.  The WA state government must decisively step up and work together with the federal government, the disability sector, the private sector and NDIS participants.  The prize is more social housing and, critically, the opportunity for the NDIS to truly deliver on its mission. 

This article first appeared in Amber Crosthwaite's article for Business News Magazine on 24th of February 2023.

Disclaimer – the information contained in this publication does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. You should seek legal advice in relation to any particular matter you may have before relying or acting on this information. The Lavan team are here to assist.