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76
Housing as a determinant of health, as per UPK Report
That the integrated analysis of infrastructure, housing, essential services and health as illustrated by the Nganampa Health Council's Uwankara Palyanyku Kanyintjaku (UPK) Report be considered as a model worthy of study and adaption for the development of community planning processes in other States and areas.
I think the departments have got a lot to answer for here, given that housing is a determinant of health. I mean everyone knows that. It’s disappointing in terms of the government responses and inaction.
Aboriginal Justice Caucus Assessment
Recommendation 76 intended for governments to consider the UPK Report as a model for integrated analysis of infrastructure, housing, essential services, and health for community planning processes.
Government responses to this recommendation were of limited relevance and did not directly address the use of this type of integrated analysis in community planning processes.
I think the departments have got a lot to answer for here, given that housing is a determinant of health. I mean everyone knows that. It’s disappointing in terms of the government responses and inaction. (Marion Hansen, Co-Chairperson AJC, and Chairperson, Southern Metropolitan RAJAC).
There is little evidence of the desired outcomes. Since the Lake Tyres Community Renewal project ended in 2015, there aren’t more recent examples of holistic community planning processes to improve housing, health and related conditions for Aboriginal communities across Victoria.
Recommendation 76 remains relevant, as there is still a need for integrated community planning around infrastructure, housing, health, and essential services for regional and rural Aboriginal communities.
I think it's very relevant and they just need to do something about it and the states need to pick up their responsibilities. (Marion Hansen, Co-Chairperson AJC; Chairperson, Southern Metropolitan RAJAC).
Priority for Further Work:
Moderate
Relevance and potential impact | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Low (0-2) | Moderate (3-4) | High (5-6) | |||
Extent of action taken and evidence of outcomes | High (5-6) | ||||
Moderate (3-4) | |||||
Low (0-2) | |||||
Potential Actions for Further Work
Expanding innovative housing initiatives
Broaden the reach of existing successful projects (e.g., elders’ villages, Village 21, Kids Undercover Studios) to cover both regional and metropolitan areas, ensuring consistent access to culturally appropriate housing for Aboriginal Communities across Victoria.
Focus on sustainable technologies to improve housing affordability and liveability.
Enhance community engagement on housing and infrastructure
Develop specific guidelines for engaging Aboriginal communities in the design of housing to better reflect cultural and Community needs.
Ensure better engagement with Aboriginal communities, especially tenants and Traditional Owners, regarding housing and infrastructure needs.
Increase support for ACCOs to provide housing
Provide more support for Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) to become registered housing providers, enabling them to access State and Commonwealth funding. This would strengthen their role in designing and delivering holistic housing solutions tailored to Community needs.
Background
The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC) highlighted the need to respect Aboriginal cultural views of domestic space while addressing poor housing and infrastructure. It endorsed the Nganampa Health Council’s survey as a model for linking housing, water and waste systems, population pressures and health. The Uwankara Palyanyku Kanyintjaku (UPK) Report emphasised the relationship between improved housing and living conditions and better health outcomes.
Actions Taken Since Last Review
Lake Tyers 10-year Community Renewal Plan
The Lake Tyers Aboriginal Community is one of only two discrete Aboriginal communities in Victoria. The Aunts of Lake Tyers were inducted into the Victorian Indigenous Honour Roll in 2005 for their instrumental work in the construction of a community health centre and in helping Lake Tyers residents access more health services at the Bairnsdale Hospital.
The Aunts played a major role in providing children's services and developed a Breakfast and After School Activities Program for primary and secondary students to reduce absenteeism rates. They built links with Victoria Police and started a community safety committee in response to local people's concerns about safety and community violence.
Most importantly, they played a critical role in stabilising a local community under extraordinary pressure and developing the Lake Tyers 10-year Community Renewal Plan.
Evaluation of Lake Tyers 10-year Community Renewal Program
The Victorian Government engaged EMS Consultants from 2004 to evaluate this project over ten years. The initial formative evaluation’ included: an audit of State and Commonwealth government services and programs provided to Lake Tyers’ residents; a community survey to capture demographic, health and wellbeing information, and insights into resident satisfaction with services, programs and infrastructure; an audit of non-residential buildings and infrastructure and community meetings to determine views of critical and priority issues. This baseline data was used to inform the ‘whole of government’ strategic and service response to priority issues.
Follow-up evaluations focusing on progress and providing ongoing recommendations to improve the impact of the Renewal Project were undertaken in 2007 and 2009 with the final evaluation taking place in 2015.
Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (Homes Victoria)
The Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH) provided the same response for several recommendations covering many initiatives related to the provision of housing and infrastructure. The most relevant information is below, but appears of limited relevance to the integrated analysis of infrastructure, housing, essential services and health:
The Big Housing Build
Ten percent of net funding for the Big Housing Build is dedicated to housing for Aboriginal people, expanding access to social and affordable housing, with delivery guided by Aboriginal self-determination principles.
Social Housing Growth Fund
The Homes for Aboriginal Victorians grant round, together with the Mental Health Supported Housing and regional rounds, seeks to deliver 420 new homes for Aboriginal people across Victoria. Under this funding, Aboriginal organisations can apply either in partnership with an existing housing agency or by becoming a registered housing agency under the Housing Act 1983 (Vic).
Department of Transport and Planning
The Department of Transport and Planning’s response indicated that DFFH is responsible for housing policy and the delivery of social and affordable housing. It did not include commentary on community planning processes in Victoria.
Impact
Mana-na woorn-tyeen maar-takoort - Every Aboriginal Person has a Home
Homes Victoria allocated $1.16 million over three years to support VAHHF implementation, to provide funding certainty and bolster job security, with this commitment annually reviewed for impact assessment. Progress is monitored through the VAHHF Annual Report Card, a collaborative effort between the Aboriginal community, led by Aboriginal Housing Victoria (AHV), and the State Government. This report card evaluates yearly work plans and outcomes against 20 measures aligned with VAHHF strategic directions, highlighting stabilisation in key areas like access to homelessness services.
The VAHHF 5-year Implementation Plan, developed by AHV and the Victorian Aboriginal Housing and Homelessness Forum, focuses on expanding the sector's capacity and identifying housing priorities across various government portfolios affecting Aboriginal communities, such as justice, child protection, family violence, disability, and elder care.
Outcomes
Apart from the Lake Tyers 10-year Community Renewal Program, we found few examples of integrated analyses of infrastructure, housing, essential services and health for Aboriginal communities across Victoria.
Community Views
Aboriginal Housing Victoria
Aboriginal Housing Victoria
Members of the AJC Project and Aboriginal Housing Victoria (AHV) teams met in July 2024 to discuss implementation of this recommendation. AHV noted:
- Broad engagement with Aboriginal communities and perspectives occurs under Mana-na woorn-tyeen maar-takoort to inform decisions around location and type of housing.
- Absence of specific guidelines/approaches for engaging Aboriginal communities in the design of housing to ensure homes enable cultural obligations to be met (i.e. sufficient rooms to support kinship care, or flexible floorplans so that family/community members can stay when visiting regional or metropolitan centres to access support services).
- Examples of ACCO-led housing projects that reflect broader community needs, including social and emotional wellbeing, include elders villages in Ballarat (Ballarat and District Aboriginal Cooperative) and Robinvale (Murray Valley Aboriginal Cooperative), Village 21 developments in Frankston (Victorian Aboriginal Child and Community Agency), Gippsland (Gippsland and East Gippsland Aboriginal Cooperative) and Shepparton (Rumbalara Aboriginal Cooperative) and Kids Undercover developments to enable Aboriginal children and young people to live on properties with their extended family.
- The need for greater Aboriginal community engagement and integrated responses.