Queanbeyan Local Homelessness Forum

Date: Friday 16 August 2013

Time: 10:00am

Location: QueanbeyanGovernmentBuilding, Room 1.01.

Chair: Rodney Land – FACS Housing NSW, Co-chair: Sara South – FACS Community Services

Minutes: Stephen Tremble - FACS

Attendees:

Family & Community Services:

Housing NSW:Rodney Land, John Skrtic, Allen Hogan, Tabatha Timbery-Cann,

Community Services: Sara South, Stephen Tremble, Lynda Stubbs, Peta Thompson,

ADHC:Dianne Carey,

Dept Human Services:Paul Martin,

Health: Fiona Beston, GSAHS

Centrelink:James Rose, Sheila Kirk,

NGOs: Debra Vido, Barnardos; Elaine Lollback, St Benedicts; Gregory Lackey, Anglicare; Jocelyn Brenner, Mission Australia; Norman Dodds, Mission Australia; Rachael Milfull, Care Financial Services; Barbara Boswell, Mission Australia; Breeanna Kearin, Barnardos; Alison Bradley, Medicare Local; Debbie Skelton, Argyle Community Housing; Denise Green, Barnardos; Donna Brotherson, Tenant Participation Resource Service; Kerry Huett, Family Referral Service Southern NSW; Michael Cockayne, Mary’s Place; Rachel Weiss, Qbn Multilingual Centre

Apologies: Anne Pratt, Gina McGufficke, John Asher, Jim Allen, Robyn Vote, Wendy Craig.

Item / Description / Action
  1. Welcome
/ Opening comments: Rodney Land – Acknowledgement of country and introductions
2. Minutes and Actions from Previous Local Homelessness Forum – 14 February 2013 / Minutes of the last meeting 14thFebruary 2013 accepted
Actions from previous meeting:
  1. Action: Rodney Land to disseminate DIACC when finalised
  2. Action: Brenda Thyer to invite services to participate in ICM
  3. Action: For everyone to sign up to SENGO
/
  1. completed
  2. completed
  3. completed

  1. 2013 Conference Summary & Evaluation
/ Community Services Director Sector Performance – Sara South
Homelessness Conference in BatemansBay on 29 & 30 May 2013 was very successful. Synopsis included in meeting pack.
60 completed evaluations received from 160 participants over the 2 days. Results:
  • Best presentations: Butch Young & Southern Mental Health, Hoarding & Squalor, Father Chris Riley – nearly all presentations were mentioned
  • Highlights - lunch/morning tea and venue; networking opportunities and information provided by expo stalls
  • Least useful – Evaluation/stats on NSW HAP projects
  • Suggestions for Improvements – no standout comments, topics suggested for future meetings etc
  • 18 organisations presented at the expo
  • Comments – absolutely loved it, very useful, venue was good, nice environment, and networking session was good.

  1. Updates
a)FACS & Localisation
b) HAP Project / Housing NSW Area Director - Rodney Land
  • Localisation for Family and Community Services will “go live” on 9 September with Southern Region splitting into 2 Districts, basically along the current network boundaries except for Shoalhaven which will merge with Illawarra. Southern NSW District FACS will comprise of 6 main streams - Community Services, Housing, ADHC, Corporate Services, Sector Performance and a Specialist stream across the region –psychologists etc.
  • However for our service providers it will essentially be business as usual with the same level of service and changes only at the structural level.
  • The objective of localisation is to devolve decision-making to the local level working more closely with local communities and reduce red tape.
  • FACS looks at Southern NSW as 5 local communities: Tablelands (Goulburn Mulwaree, Upper Lachlan, YassValley), Queanbeyan, Cooma Monaro Region (inc Snowy Mountains & Bombala), Eurobodalla, BegaValley.
  • Will work towards rationalising meetings, i.e. – incorporate or hold consecutively Family Case Management & Integrated Case Management.
Community Connections – Norm Dodds (Mission Australia)
  1. Community Connections Report Jan-June 2013
Report included in meeting handouts – 274 active clients, Aboriginal or TSI - 76
  • Brokerage increased during this period as more agencies involved
  • Increase in private rentals – due to the success of the Commercial Sector engagement strategy by FACS &social housing providers. Private real estate agents now more willing to consider clients who are getting support.
  • Currently more clients living with friends/couch surfing especially on the coast and in the snow area due to short 6 month rentals that are then used for the holiday market.
  • Increase in numbers of clients receiving high support – those with complex needs who are visited at least once per week
  • Issues –shortage of Private rentals in Eurobodalla and Bega, working on temporary housing with bedsits for youth in Cooma
  • No data availablefrom other agencies re those clients who leave the program – need to look at ways to capture this data.
  • Mission underwent extensive evaluations of the three year contract. Some inconsistency with the evaluation of HAP projects meant that new guidelines were introduced in relation to brokerage and use of panel to make decisions so that the use was consistent/relevant.
  • Due to the changes in HAP Guidelines for 2013/14 there will be a new data report format that Mission Australia will report on at the next meeting.Missionhas instituted a new Referral Form for Brokerage support. Please note that those sections marked with an * must be completed or will not be accepted by the panel for consideration. This includes the requirement for information about case planning on page 4 – the panel must be informed about the type and level of support proposed to support the maintenance of tenancy.Missionis currently building an electronic referral document for everyone to use. It is being trialled in the Goulburn office at present. The document won’t be able to be sent unless all necessary areas are filled in.
  • The panel consists of Housing, Community Services and Legal Aid representatives and 1 from Mission Australia – need to have approvals from 2 independent reps unless the case is urgent.
  • Issue re Brokerage approvals – Time taken before approvals come through when private real estate agents not willing to hold properties. This is often due to the requirement for clients to apply for rent/bond assistance from Housing NSW before the case can be considered and waiting for the Housing response.
It is important that services ensure clients have completed and lodged all necessary Housing applications before making referrals for brokerage support – this can be done through the local community housing providers as well as Housing NSW.
Agreement to Suggestion: Brokerage for bond can be pre-approved by panel for full amount of bond pending the outcome of application for Housing Bond Loan and then only pays the difference if the application is successful.
  • Referral and brokerage forms must be sent together if wanting brokerage for a client. For brokerage money, you need to supply two quotes after having previously sourced other options first such as meeting housing requirements or other sources of funding before it will be looked at.
Change to Community Connection boundaries
  • From 1 July 2013 Community Connections will no longer cover Young, Harden & Boorowa due to changes with localisation. However Community Connections clients in this region will continue to be supported until they no longer require support or engage with other local services. This will be approved by the SE Regional Homelessness Committee at the next meeting.
  1. Overview of Community Connections Project Proposals
  2. All funding for successful projects transferred and contracts sent out – some projects have implementation plans and are required to give regular progress reports. The first quarterly report due at the end of October 2013.
  3. A list of all the successful projects was distributed
  4. Some very innovative projects – local ones will be presented today.

4. Presentations on New CC Projects /
  • Argyle Community Housing – have advertised, for their project, a new support worker to undertake tenancy management and provide support to people in transitional accommodation. This will be a collaborative approach involving GPs, CentreLink, utilising Rent It Keep It, etc.
  • Gunyah Women’s Housing – will be presenting Rent It Keep It to women of Queanbeyan along with additional training in cooking and budgeting. Contact Louella Martin for bookings (6297 5827)
  • St Benedicts Community Day Centre – have already started their project and have housed a number of people. They have also paid for tickets so that people can get back to somewhere safe. 175 people in St Benedicts have already been accommodated. They are focusing on people who don’t quite fit the model for a housing visit. The project allows them to respond quickly or in out of hours to unusual cases. General comment: Housing and St Benedicts have had 2 successful results from working together.

  1. Centrelink Presentation
/ Centrelink Services to Clients at Risk of Homelessness – Rebecca Driscoll & Kate Wilson
Handout provided with agenda.
  • Benefits of theService include:-
New start allowance for young people seeking employment
Job seek
Austudy
Parenting payments for single or partnered
Family tax break
Disability support allowance
Sickness allowance
Widow allowance
Age pension
Special benefits
  • Centrelink also do a lot of referrals to other services such as apprentice programs and language programs.
  • Centrelink can also tailor to client’s circumstances such as paying for services from client’s payments.
  • Social Workers (SWs) – only SWs can make their own appointments which may present a barrier for consultations for clients as they present at the office. However customer service officers can book in a phone appointment with the local SW or refer to the call centre social worker for phone advice & support.
  • SWs provide short-term counselling, referral to appropriate services, and can make recommendations with regard to time-out or exemption from activity tests.
  • Homeless Index for each client included on Centrelink form completed by a customer services officer and included in the list of vulnerabilities for that client. This is taken into account should there be the possibility of penalties being applied and referred back to the social worker for follow-up as required.
  • Crisis Payments for those forced to move home – only available for those who are eligible for a payment. In case of a customer in a DV situation, they are referred to a social worker and immediately assessed for eligibility in new situation. Crisis payments are not repayable but must be claimed within 7 days. DV perpetrators may also be eligible for crisis payment depending on circumstances. Maximum crisis payment is ½ of normal payment.
  • When parents have separated, a claim for Child Support must be completed (or CS exemption obtained) within 3 months or Family Tax benefit will be substantially reduced.
  • Note: If a customer updates their address and contact details with Centrelink they also have to do this with Medicare as the 2 systems are not linked and new Medicare cards and information could be sent to the wrong address, with possible serious implications in a DV situation.
  • Issues & Questions
a)Children under 16 years who present as homeless or at risk
-Has to have a face to face that day
-not eligible for payment but Family Tax benefits can be provided to a family member etc who take them in
-if child at risk Centrelink just needs a report (verbal or written) from a service provider
-if child at risk under 15 years service should complete MRG and report to Community Services HelpLine.
b)Weekly payments – can be made for a short time while client receives budgeting support but not encouraged long-term as most employers pay fortnightly
c)Charge to payee for Centrepay – 99 cents per transaction, also charges to NSW Housing for each Rent Deduction Scheme. This disadvantages clients with private real estate agents.
d)Centrepay deductions are voluntary and customers are able to cease the payments although discouraged by officers but changes can also be made over the phone or on-line. Customers now have to complete and sign a form to change Centrepay at the office. Note – if payments are suspended for a period, Centrepay deductions are not automatically reinstated on recommencement of payment but have to be applied for again
e)Query re differences in rent assistance and payments for clients of services who appear to be in the same situation – payments dependent on customers personal circumstances including Child Support payments, Family Tax benefit eligibility, whether paying rent or board & lodging, sharing a residence etc
  1. General Business
/
  1. Engagement with the Commercial Sector - Sara South
The first part of the project has been almost completed and was very successful (only Upper Lachlan, SnowyMountains, Bombala and Yass to go). There has been an increase in private rentals for SHS clients across the SE. Agents did not know about Housing products – Rent Assistance etc, and pleased to know that they can contact service if tenant is late with rent payments etc. – makes their job easier.
NorthCoast has received HAP funding to develop an Engagement with the Private Rental Sector Toolkit to assist SHS providers to help clients enter the private rental market. Draft kit to be developed by November 2013 and evaluated by May 2014.Sara will follow this project and discuss/distribute the toolkit once developed.
Housing NSW Tenancy Guarantee – is offered for only a period of 3 to 6 months (dependent on length of lease. This is due to there only being a limited amount of funding available for the program and so able to spread the funding further.
A lot of the success has come from caseworkers developing relationships with real estate agents. Talking to landlords has made some impact.
Now need to broaden the project to include Shire Councils (planning), developers and investors to try and increase affordable and suitable housing stock.
Comments from floor:
a)Some of the issues faced by clients in engaging the private rental market are the requirements needed by the client to get a look in such as references, letters from referees and previous rental history.
b)Some of the successes of the roadshow are that a number of real estate agents have come on board and clients are being accepted. Some real estate agents are ringing caseworkers when they have a suitable house. It is important that the real estate agents let the caseworker know immediately when a payment is missed so that they can get on to it straight away and not let the arrears build up.
Suggestion:
a)Getting testimonials from real estate agents as to the benefits of the program and use these in subsequent roadshows.
  1. Going Home Staying Home (GHSH) Reform – Sara South
Sara provided a brief outline of the GHSH reform so far and the 2 initial rounds of transition funding – Innovation and Industry Development Funds that closed in April.
The outcome of the Industry Development funds were recently announced:
  • SEWACS – How to link both funded and non-funded Homelessness Services in the local area
  • SYFS – Options for Exit Housing for Young People in Goulburn region
The Innovation Fund round requires Commonwealth approval and the successful applicant in SE NSW will be announced soon.
All funds to be expended and acquitted by 31 December 2013.
Contracting approach for GHSH reform not yet announced – either by Tender or Application or Expression of Interest – as well as pricing approach and procurement plan.
Announcements will come from the Minister soon.
New service specifications are to be in place by 1 July 2014 and most decisions and “tender assessment” will be centrally driven based on a Resource Allocation Model (RAM) with input from districts re local priorities and service mix. The reform has to link to the Commonwealth goals and NAHA but also be fair and transparent with a reduction in “red tape”. All decisions are to be announced by January 2014.
There may be significant changes to the SHS service system in SE NSW with not all current services as they operate now. A major consideration will be value and quantity for money.
  1. Integrated Case Management – Rodney Land
Brenda Thyer has now returned to her position in Community Services Nowra and recruitment for the Family Case Management position has commenced with interviews planned for 28 August. Until the new person is in place the ICM meetings will continue with support from Housing staff using a similar model to Family Case Management. FCM in all areas are going well.
  1. Future Meetings & Presentations- Sara South
From the conference evaluations there were a number of ideas
  • Centrelink – done
  • Raising Awareness of Homelessness
  • Service directories
  • Focus on youth homelessness
  • Police – response to homeless people
  • Hoarding & squalor
  • Generic Referral form
  • Collaborative applications for funding
  • Submission writing
From the floor:
  1. lack of housing available, master builders assoc are building houses for their apprentices, possibly invite MBA along to discuss opportunities.
  1. Staff Debriefing mechanisms – where to now?
There was a brief presentation at the conference re supervision, debriefing and self-care issues for small organisations. There was a training presentation and learner resource provided. Gary Matlock has written up a package on the topic and can provide a free one-day presentation available for SHS and other NGO services staff and hold one in each of 3 LHF areas- Tablelands, Qbn/Cooma and South Coast. / Sara to investigate further to reach planners, investors & developers
More information to services as soon as provided
Sara to Follow-up with Gary Matlock.
  1. LHF Planning Session - Open Space Technology
/ Discussion on how open space technology works and what it will be for this forum. At the end of this session we will have something to work on. The owner of the idea to present a couple of points to deliver (actions).
Ideas and some actions presented at the end of the session.
  1. Pop up health clinic for homeless – action to explore bulk billing
  2. Homeless issues for males
  3. Sector wide Homelessness project utilising social work placement students in individual agencies to achieve sector project.
  4. More affordable housing… Action: research to gain evidence and develop a hit list of groups to be co-opted into idea.
  5. Shared housing, communal, self contained units. Action: investigate Abifield project in Goulburn and Victoria.
  6. Intergenerational dependence on support and up skilling social worker on breaking dependence of clients.
  7. Youth Housing for low income earners.

  1. Next Meeting
/ Thursday 14th November 2013 to be held in Queanbeyan
Discussion took place on being separate from Cooma/Monaro; next meeting will be separate again.

Action Log 16/08/13