Vacant public housing has been upgraded to give shelter to the homeless at a rate of nine properties a month since roll out of the Malinauskas Government’s $177.5 million Public Housing Improvement Program (PHIP).

The SA Housing Authority is powering on with delivery of the $177.5 million election public housing commitment to upgrade 350 vacant homes, build 437 new ones and carry out extra maintenance on a further 3000 properties.

Since July last year, under the 350-upgrade program, the Authority has refurbished the first 45 properties across regional and metropolitan South Australia and is on target to exceed its goal of 72 upgrades by the end of the financial year.

As of today, 80 properties are in the process of being upgraded, or have already been completed.

Today, the Authority revealed the latest renovation – a three-bedroom home at Port Adelaide which is now ready for new tenants. The vast majority of tenants going into upgrades homes are drawn from Category 1 on the register – those who are homeless and face additional challenges.

Renovations on another 35 homes are set for completion by the end of this financial year.

Works under the 350-upgrade program include the replacement of kitchens and/or bathrooms, new flooring, walls, fittings, painting and other major repairs and updates.

Progress is also well underway on the 437 new homes and extra maintenance on another 3000 houses.
In addition to the $177.5 million PHIP election commitment, last month the government announced its plan for A Better Housing Future which commits an additional $55.2 million to additional public housing for another 127 new homes by June 2026.
These investments – totalling an extra $232.7 million in this term of government – will deliver the first substantial increase to public housing in a generation by building an extra 564 public homes for South Australians in need and stopping the sale of 580 others.

Quotes

Attributable to Nat Cook

The quality of the refurbishments being undertaken is outstanding.

This program and the maintenance blitz is social justice in action and it’s why on top of the $177.5 million PHIP, we are also investing an additional $55.2 million over four years in public housing.

We have undertaken a forensic review of the public housing program. We have stopped 580 sales and invested in 564 new homes which will give us in excess of 1000 new public homes by 2026 compared to plans under the former Liberal government.

We know that in the middle of a national housing crisis, putting a safe roof over someone's head actually does more than just give them somewhere to live; it dramatically improves the likelihood of them engaging in our community in a more productive way.

The Public Housing Improvement Program was one of our key election commitments and it’s fantastic to see this progress being made. The work is on target to exceed goals for the first year and work will be completed by June 2026.

Attributable to SA Housing Trust Board Presiding Member Mary Patetsos

In times where sourcing labour and materials has been a challenge, our teams have made great progress on this program.

It is our aim to provide South Australians with safe, affordable housing options and this work is just another way of us doing that.