Refugees struggle to find decent housing
New research released today by ANGLICARE Sydney, finds that African refugees in Western Sydney face significant housing insecurity years after arriving in Australia and are trapped in welfare dependency.
The report, Long way home? explores the experience of African refugees in obtaining secure and long term housing in central Western Sydney. The families had their refugee status approved by the UNHCR before coming to Australia under the Refugee and Special Humanitarian Programs.
“Families we spoke to came from extremely distressing backgrounds – their suffering is unimaginable. And yet, years after arriving in Australia they are not able to find a stable place to call home”, said Peter Kell, CEO ANGLICARE Sydney.
Most families surveyed by ANGLICARE had to move house every six months or so, making it very difficult to form links with the community, establish stable employment and settle their children in local schools.
ANGLICARE says the main problems in this area are the chronic shortage of public housing and complicated pathways into public and private housing.
“While previous Federal funding cuts to public housing have been partly offset by recent investment, the situation is still desperate – there is just not enough public housing stock.
“The NSW public housing system is also terribly complicated – it is very difficult for non-English speakers to understand the services available to them. It must be more simple for everyone”, said Mr Kell.
Due to the lack of public housing, refugee families are forced onto the private rental market where ever-increasing rents eat away at their Government benefits. ANGLICARE is concerned that this situation entrenches welfare dependency.
“These people want to be independent but often feel helpless because so much of their income goes on rent for premises that are too small for their families and are, in some cases derelict”, said Mr Kell.ANGLICARE says its findings are in line with best practice literature and can be applied to a national context. It is calling on State and Federal Governments to:
- significantly increase funding for new public housing across Australia;
- extend the length of time that humanitarian entrants can receive settlement assistance; and
- simplify entry pathways into public and private housing system, especially for non-English speakers.
“Families who have come from war zones tell us that years after arriving in Australia they still feel like refugees – there is a moral obligation to better care for these vulnerable people”, said Mr Kell.
