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The Housing Assistance Act 1996
The Housing Assistance Act 1996 [external link] aims to assist people to obtain access to housing that is affordable and appropriate to their needs, and to provide assistance for other housing-related purposes. The Act provides for the Australian Government's provision of grants to the states and territories for housing assistance, as well as authorising the Australian Government to enter into agreements with the states and territories. As such, it is the legislative basis for the Commonwealth State Housing Agreements.
The Commonwealth State Housing Agreement
The 2003 Commonwealth State Housing Agreement (CSHA) is authorised under the Housing Assistance Act 1996. It provides strategic direction and funding for the provision of housing assistance across Australia from 1 July 2003 to 30 June 2008. The CSHA aims to provide appropriate , affordable and secure housing assistance for those who most need it, for the duration of their need. The CSHA consists of a multilateral agreement and bilateral agreements between the Australian Government and each state and territory. The multilateral agreement specifies an outcome measurement framework based on bilateral information, a core set of nationally consistent indicators, and data for benchmarking purposes. These are specified in the National Housing Data Agreement, a subsidiary agreement to the CSHA.
Further information on the CSHA and a copy of the agreement can be obtained from the Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaCSIA) [external link].
National Housing Data Agreement
The National Housing Data Agreement (NHDA) is a subsidiary agreement to the 2003 Commonwealth State Housing Agreement and was signed in 2003. The signatories are the Commonwealth, states and territories, the Australian Bureau of Statistics [external link] and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. The aims of the NHDA are:
- to ensure that nationally relevant housing data collected throughout Australia are consistent and compatible between the different collections; and otherwise
- to improve the quality of and access to housing data at the national level whilst protecting the confidentiality of the data.
There are three schedules to the NHDA:
- Schedule 1 National Minimum Data Set - This work is aimed at developing the national minimum data set for the six Commonwealth State Housing Assistance areas: public rental housing, community housing, state owned and managed Indigenous housing, Crisis Accommodation Program, home purchase assistance and private rent assistance. Schedule 1 also includes the continuing development of the National Housing Data Repository. This provides housing program managers with access to the data required for policy development, strategic planning and performance monitoring.
- Schedule 2 National Performance Indicators - States and territories are required to report annually to the Australian Government against progress under the Commonwealth State Housing Agreement. This work involves the development of national performance indicators, as well as the annual data collection and reporting processes. This work is also aligned with the annual reporting process for the Report on Government Services.
- Schedule 3 National Data Definitions and Standards - Under the terms of the Commonwealth State Housing Agreement, members have agreed to cooperate in the development of a national housing assistance data dictionary which will be the authoritative source of national housing data definitions and standards. Work under this schedule is aimed at developing and updating the National Housing Assistance Data Dictionary.
The Housing Assistance Unit undertakes annual data collections for Commonwealth State Housing Agreement (CSHA) public rental housing, state owned and managed Indigenous housing, community housing, Crisis Accommodation Program, home purchase assistance and private rent assistance. The Unit also manages the national social housing surveys of public rental and community housing tenants.
Agreement on National Indigenous Housing Information
The Agreement on National Indigenous Housing Information (ANIHI) is an initiative of the Housing Ministers' Reform Agenda for Indigenous housing (1997). The long-term goal of this agreement is not only to have a workable means of obtaining nationally relevant Indigenous housing data, but to do so in a way that is compatible and consistent with other information initiatives in Australia that cover other housing data and other relevant health and community services data. The aims of the ANIHI are:
- to improve the quality of, and access to, Indigenous housing information at the national level whilst protecting the confidentiality of the data;
- to ensure that data collected from different sources across the country are consistent and compatible between the different collections;
- to improve the compatibility of Indigenous housing data with mainstream housing information and health and community information;
- to address in the first instance, through the provision of reliable, consistent data, the acknowledged priority areas of Indigenous housing need, viability of Indigenous housing organisations, sustainable and healthy housing and delivery of improved housing outcomes.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and Welfare Unit undertakes an annual data collection for Indigenous community housing under the ANIHI.