Indigenous housing target exceeded ahead of schedule

More than 5000 homes in remote Indigenous communities have now been refurbished or rebuilt by the Australian Government, nearly two years ahead of schedule.

The refurbishments are being delivered under the $5.5 billion National Partnership Agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing, which is building brand new houses as well as refurbishing or rebuilding existing homes in remote Indigenous communities across the country.

The Government has already surpassed the overall target set of 4876 refurbishments by 2014, with all jurisdictions either exceeding or on track to meet their individual targets.

The Government is also on track to meet the ambitious target of 4200 new homes built by 2018, with more than 1440 houses constructed so far. In total, more than 6000 homes in remote Indigenous communities have been built or refurbished since 2009.

Decent housing is critical to tackling Indigenous disadvantage. It helps protect children, improves health, education and employment outcomes and is essential to rebuilding positive community norms.

The housing program is also giving Indigenous people more opportunities for work, with Indigenous employees making up more than 20 per cent of the overall new construction workforce. About 30 per cent of this workforce in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia is Indigenous.

The National Partnership Agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing was renegotiated in late 2009 to provide greater financial incentives for jurisdictions to deliver new houses and refurbishments.

Under the revised arrangements, up to 25 per cent of a jurisdiction’s capital works funding allocation can be reallocated if agreed targets are not met.

This has significantly improved the delivery of new housing and refurbishments. This is set to continue with around 590 new houses and about 1200 refurbishments expected to be delivered this financial year.

The Government is making unprecedented investments to help close the gap on Indigenous disadvantage, with better housing, more job opportunities and improved services in areas such as health and education.

We will continue to take strong action to improve the delivery of Indigenous housing across Australia.

NPARIH refurbishments progress to 31 October 2012