In Western Sydney, access to social and affordable housing is an ongoing challenge, with community and human service organisations continuing to identify housing as their top priority. Although nearly two thirds of Greater Sydney’s social and affordable housing stock is located in Western Sydney, this only meets 44 percent of current demand. By 2041, it is estimated that demand will outpace housing supply by over 60,000.
In their recently released Discussion Paper, Homes NSW has set out a series of draft priorities and opportunities for reform. As part of the consultation process to inform a new ten-year Homes for NSW Plan, Western Sydney Community Forum put forward a submission with the following four recommendations:
- Increase social and affordable housing stock to ensure that increasing demand is met, particularly for growth areas such as Western Sydney.
- Recognise the impact of diversity and intersectionality on social housing needs, access and vulnerabilities.
- Invest in coordinated wrap-around services that work together with existing community services to support people across the housing system; and
- Adopt a place-based approach to supporting communities where there are large concentrations of social housing, coordinated through regional social development councils
