Accommodation for the Homeless Phase 2 and Community Sector Owned Rooming House Upgrades

Accommodation for the Homeless Phase 2 and Community Sector Owned Rooming House Upgrades
Guidance Note to applicants

Supplementary information provided on 28 April 2017

Contents

Introduction

Purpose of this Guidance Note

Engagement with the sector during the invited submission process

Scope check teleconferences with the department

Purpose of scope check

Arranging a teleconference with the department’s project team

Purpose of invited submission process and initiatives

Purpose of invited submission process

Accommodation for the Homeless Phase 2

Community Sector Owned Rooming House Upgrades

Funding allocations

Accommodation for the Homeless Phase 2

Community Sector Owned Rooming House Upgrades

Policy context

The department’s strategic plan and response to the Royal Commission into Family Violence

Homes for Victorians

Partnerships and innovation

Key timeframes

Accommodation for the Homeless Phase 2 and Community Sector Owned Rooming House Upgrade – Guidance Note to applicants 1

Introduction

Purpose of this Guidance Note

The Department of Health and Human Services (the department) has prepared this Guidance Note for Registered Housing Agencies and Department Funded Community Service Organisations considering applying for funding through the invited submission process forAccommodation for the Homeless Phase 2 and the Community Sector Owned Rooming House Upgrades.

This Guidance Note provides further clarification on existing documents released by the department regarding the submission process. As such, this Guidance Note should be read in conjunction with the following documents:

•Guidance Pack

•Conditions of application

•Responses to questions from the industry briefing

•Responses to questions from the sector (updated regularly).

All documents are available on the Helping those at risk of homelessness web page on the department’s website <

Engagement with the sector during the invited submission process

The department’s main mechanism for engagement during this invited submission process is the department’s website. Potential applicants should refer to the material published on the Helping those at risk of homelessness web page on the department’s website

The department updates this website regularly with responses to questions received from potential applicants.

After reading the guidance pack, conditions of application and the responses to questions, potential applicantsseeking clarification of matters associated with the invited submission process can contact Mr Sandru Santhana Anandaraj, Project Officer, Homelessness and Accommodation Support, Department of Health and Human Services, via email at

Questions from potential applicants should be received by the department before 5:00pm, 8 May 2017.

Scope check teleconferences with the department

Purpose of scope check

After reviewing the guidance pack, conditions of application and the responses to questions, potential applicants may contact the department to seek specific advice about whether their project proposal is aligned to the key selection criteria.

The department will not comment on the merit or relative strength of individual project proposals from potential applicants. However, the department may provide some provisional feedback to potential applicants on whether their project proposal is in scope and aligned to the key selection criteria for either Accommodation for the Homeless Phase 2 or the Community Sector Owned Rooming House Upgrades.

Discussions will be via teleconference at an agreed time between the applicant and the department. It is expected that teleconferences between the department and potential applicants will take place during the department’s business hours (8:30am to 5:00pm) and be up to 30 minutes duration.

Every attempt will be made to accommodate and schedule requests for scope checks from potential applicants.

Arranging a teleconference with the department’s project team

Potential applicants who wish to arrange a teleconference should email the department at

In requesting a scope check from the project team, applicants should include the following details in their email:

Note that they are seeking a scope check with the department
Nominate a preferred date and time for a teleconference with the project team
Identify the organisation’s representatives who will participate in the teleconference
Provide a brief summary of the project proposal, highlighting the key aspects of the proposal for which they are seeking advice.

Requests for a teleconference with the department’s project team should be received by the department before 5:00pm, 3 May 2017. Note that the teleconference may be held after this date, but prior to the close of applications at 5:00pm, 15 May 2017.

Responses to questions which are not proprietary to a potential applicant (i.e. commercially sensitive) may be recorded and published for all applicants to view, in line with probity requirements. Responses to questions which are published on the department’s website will not include identifying information about organisations, their officers or their project proposals.

Purpose of invited submission process and initiatives

Purpose of invited submission process

A single invited submission process is being conducted to allocatefunding for Accommodation for the Homeless Phase 2 (up to $25 million) and the Community Sector Owned Rooming House Upgrades ($10 million) through a competitive process.

As noted in the guidance pack, the purpose of the invited submission process is as follows:

For Accommodation for the Homeless Phase 2: To identify, assess and select Registered Housing Agencies and/or Department Funded Community Service Organisations who can commit to delivering new or innovative redeveloped long term housing or crisis accommodation options that offer flexible support for Victorians most in need.
For the Community Sector Owned Rooming House Upgrades:To identify, assess and select Registered Housing Agencies who can commit to upgrading rooming houses into self-contained apartments providing modern and safe accommodation for residents.

A summary of each initiative is outlined below:

Accommodation for the Homeless Phase 2

Funding available / Up to $25 million over four years, consisting of:
•Capital grants: up to $21.9 million
•Support funding: up to $3.1 million
Organisations eligible to apply for funding / Registered Housing Agencies and/or Department Funded Community Service Organisations
Location of projects across Victoria / It is expected that projects will be across Victoria.
Applicants are required to demonstrate where there is a need for more and/or improved accommodation and service options for people at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness.
Target group / •Women and children escaping family violence
•Young people. This can include, but is not limited to, young people leaving care or youth justice clients
•People experiencing chronic homelessness and rough sleeping
•Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
Full definitions are available in the guidance pack.
The department may consider project proposals which fall outside the target group identified above. However, the onus is on the applicant to demonstrate and provide evidence of the targeted need in their proposal.

Table one: Summary of details for Accommodation for the Homeless Phase 2

Accommodation for the Homeless Phase 2 aims to address homelessness by growing and enhancing the supply of crisis accommodation and long-term housing options in Victoria, particularly for vulnerable client groups who may require supports to get their lives back on track. These groups include women and children escaping family violence, young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and people experiencing chronic homelessness and rough sleeping.

The department is seeking projects that will deliver new or innovative redeveloped long term housing or crisis accommodation options that provide flexible support for Victorians most in need and leverage other service delivery opportunities to provide a pathway out of homelessness.

Community Sector Owned Rooming House Upgrades

Funding available / Up to $10 million
Organisations eligible to apply for funding / Registered Housing Agencies only
Location of projects across Victoria / It is expected that projects will be across Victoria.
Applicants are required to demonstrate that there is a need for upgraded rooming house accommodation in the identified location. The onus is on the applicant to demonstrate this need as part of their application.
Target group / There is no specific target group.

Table two: Summary of details for the Community Service Owned Rooming House Upgrades

The Victorian Government is investing to improve and upgrade community sector owned rooming houses. A number of rooming houses in Victoria operate an outdated model of accommodation with shared communal living, bathroom and kitchen facilities. The upgrades will convert rooming houses into fully self-contained apartments providing modern and safe accommodation for residents.

Funding allocations

The department is providing this information about the funding available in each of the next three years to assist applicants in planning and staging project proposals.

Please note that capital funding cannot be used for support services, and vice-versa.

Funding cannot be brought forward, but the department may roll funding over into following years depending on the submissions received. Note that support funding could potentially be distributed over three years.

The funding allocation for each initiative is outlined below.

Accommodation for the Homeless Phase 2

Year / 17-18 / 18-19 / 19-20 / 20-21 / Total
Capital funding / 7.30 / 7.30 / 7.30 / – / 21.90
Support funding / – / 1.55 / 1.55 / – / 3.10
Total funding / 7.30 / 8.85 / 8.85 / – / 25.00

Table three: Funding allocations for Accommodation for the Homeless Phase 2 ($ million)

Community Sector Owned Rooming House Upgrades

Year / 17-18 / 18-19 / 19-20 / 20-21 / Total
Capital funding / 10.00 / – / – / – / 10.00
Total funding / 10.00 / – / – / – / 10.00

Table four: Funding allocations for the Community Service Owned Rooming House Upgrades ($ million)

Policy context

The department’s strategic plan and response to the Royal Commission into Family Violence

The department has identified four strategic directions through its strategic plan for 2016-17, which will be used to deliver measurable outcomes and achieve its vision for the people of Victoria: ‘to achieve the best health, wellbeing and safety of all Victorians so that they can live a life they value’.

The strategic directions identified by the department are:

Person-centred services and care
Local solutions
Earlier and more connected solutions
Advancing quality, safety and innovation.

In addition to this vision and strategic directions, the department has identified an outcomes framework and key results to measure the success of the department in meeting its strategic directions. The following outcomes and results are of most relevance tothis invited submission process:

Victorians have suitable and stable housing (outcomes for people)
Reduce the proportion of the population experiencing homelessness – especially victims of family violence, and young people (result)
Victorian health and human services are person centred and sustainable (service system outcome)
Reduce the average wait time for people on the priority housing list (result).

In developing its vision statement, strategic directions and outcomes framework the department is looking for better ways of organising services and supports to break down the artificial barriers within and between service sectors to provide a level of care that is genuinely coordinated around what people need and want. The department also needs to better coordinate our services with other government services including those delivered in education and justice settings.

Some of this work has emerged through the Victorian Government’s response to the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Family Violence. The Royal Commission heard substantial evidence about the difficulties people face navigating a complex and fragmented social services system. This experience is not unique to victims and survivors of family violence. The findings and recommendations of the Royal Commission provide a launching pad for a much broader conversation about people’s experiences and the outcomes delivered across health and human services.

Homes for Victorians

Homes for Victoriansis the Victorian Government’s affordable housingstrategy. As part of this strategy, the Victorian Government has invested $109 million in response to homelessness package to intervene earlier to prevent homelessness, improve responses to those entering crisis accommodation, and increase the wrap-around services and support people in need. Accommodation for the Homeless Phase 2 is a key initiative of this $109 million response to homelessness package.

Separately, Homes for Victorians also provided a $10 million investment for the upgrade of community sector owned rooming houses, with a further $10 million investment in rooming houses owned by the Director of Housing.

In addition, the Towards Home program provides an investment of close to $10 million to rapidly rehouse vulnerable people sleeping rough in inner Melbourne and provide them with targeted supports to maintain their housing. This includes priority access to 40 transitional housing units across Melbourne, 30 new modular and relocatable homes on public land to be in place by the end of 2017, and flexible support packages for 40 rough sleepers for up to two years to assist with the maintenance of housing and access to necessary health and welfare services

Partnerships and innovation

Priority will be given to projects that leverage assets of Registered Housing Agencies and Department Funded Community Service Organisations and partnerships across government, not-for-profit organisations and the private sector, to deliver value for money.

Projects that demonstrate innovation, in terms of project and service development and delivery and collaboration will also be prioritised through the selection process. Innovation should be demonstrated through new ways of agencies working together to create client pathways and support clients into stable housing.

Partnerships between Registered Housing Agencies and Department Funded Community Service Organisations are encouraged as a way of bringing together a range of expertise and providing a strong knowledge base about the needs of particular clients and client groups.

For example a partnership between a Registered Housing Agency and an Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation (ACCO) might enable the project to deliver innovative approaches to providing housing and support services to Aboriginal people in a particular locality. The ACCO may already be supporting people with a range of needs but through this initiative the partnership may be able to link those people with housing and provide additional support to assist clients tomove into and maintain stable housing while continuing to provide support, for example, for mental health and wellbeing.

Another example of partnerships and innovation might be a multi-agency partnership that brings together youth expertise, health services and housing to support young people. A proposal might describe how young people would receive wrap around services that keep them in stable housing and link them into education or employment opportunities.

Organisations are expected to demonstrate their ability to leverage existing resources to deliver the support services attached to accommodation models and demonstrate how the approach is evidence based and a best practice approach.

While Accommodation for the Homeless Phase 2 includes a small proportion of funds for service delivery costs, it is expected that the vast majority of recurrent costs will be covered by existing investment in supports. Proposals put forward will need to reflect this expectation. Please note that there is no support funding available under the Community Sector Owned Rooming House Upgrades.

Please note that the information provided above is based on the key selection criteria that all applications will be assessed against.

Key timeframes

All potential applicants should be aware of the following key timeframes.

Milestone / Timeframe
Last day to submit a request for a scope check teleconference / Requests should be received by email at before 5:00pm,
3 May 2017
Last day to submit questions to the department / Questions should be received by email at before 5:00pm,
8 May 2017
Closing date for submissions / Applications must be received by email at before 5:00pm, 15 May 2017
Successful and unsuccessful applicants notified of outcomes / 30 June – 7 July 2017
(indicative)
Successful applicants respond to the department’s offer / By 5:00pm, 7 July 2017
(indicative)
The department prepares necessary funding documents and funding deeds for execution by the Director of Housing / 10 July – 14 July 2017
(indicative)
Projects commence / September 2017 (indicative)

Table five: key timeframes

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© State of Victoria, Department of Health and Human ServicesApril 2017.
Where the term ‘Aboriginal’ is used it refers to both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Indigenous is retained when it is part of the title of a report, program or quotation.
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Accommodation for the Homeless Phase 2 and Community Sector Owned Rooming House Upgrade – Guidance Note to applicants 1