Purpose 
The right mix and location of housing at the right price. Responsive market to housing needs with appropriate agility and flexibility.

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Objectives

Development of a Gladstone Region Housing strategy that considers:

• historical housing impacts in the Gladstone Region to inform future planning

• current impacts, gaps and needs

• existing housing stock and supports

• the ‘appropriate’ level of housing supports to meet local needs, while avoiding unintended consequences  

• development of an informed and data-evidenced position on the best mix of housing for Gladstone

• rates of change to provide a dynamic model of housing solutions that can adjust to changing needs and impacts

• shared resources and narrative

• use of local influence and levers to proactively influence housing outcomes

• long-term management and controls to manage future impacts and changes

 

Community Identified Need

Housing has been a critical social impact for Gladstone in recent years and has been one of the most significant fluctuating impacts on the region over the last few decades.

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Community concerns extend from homeless to availability of rentals.

 

Stakeholders

• Department of Housing, Queensland Government

• Department of State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning

• Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water

• Gladstone Regional Council

• Gladstone Central Committee on the Ageing

• Gladstone Engineering Alliance (EDPN)

• Regional Housing Limited

• Member for Gladstone

• Electorate Office of Glenn Butcher MP

• Member for Flynn Representative 

• Roseberry QLD

 

Measures (click on linked measure to see current data)

• ↓ # Specialist Homelessness Service clients

• ↓ # rent assistance payments

• ↓ #, % homeless persons aged 0-14 years

• Rent stress

• Mortgage stress

• Collaboration Measure – participation of stakeholders

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Methodology 

Initial Stages of the work included:

• Identifying appropriate stakeholders to be a part of the conversation

• Identifying what other work and planning existed or was taking place

• Defining the issues – by unpacking the complexity of housing demands, stock types and supports

• Exploring past trends and experiences that have led to over or undersupply of housing or other impacts

• Exploring social impacts and causal factors of housing impacts of the boom-and-bust cycle

• Understanding who benefited and who was impacted 

• Understanding previous mitigations that worked and what could be improved on

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Current Elements of the work include:

• Identifying gaps in current housing supply

• Identifying current supply/demand rates across different stock for different cohorts

• Identifying current support capacity and pressures

• Projecting growth and future housing needs

• Using lessons from the past to understand how impacts might play out and what solutions might be appropriate

• Evaluating existing plans, planning works and proposed solutions held by cross-sector stakeholders

• Establishing a shared narrative and co-design of possible solutions

 

A separate working group has taken on the immediate need to support those experiencing homelessness.

 

Activity to Date 

Housing Supports Working Group (2022)

During 2022 a Housing Supports Working Group met to address immediate housing stresses and feedback from the social sector, who were finding it hard to navigate housing supports to help clients with appropriate referrals. As a result of the Working Group, a Referral Pathways Guide for Housing Supports was created, resulting in improved referrals for right service, right time for clients.

 

Growth Management Working Group (2022)

During 2022 a Growth Management Working Group of stakeholders across government and industry met to identify core elements required to tackle impacts on the Gladstone Region community related to growth. Discussions considered, who has the authority to play in this space? With an outcome that, locals who had experienced previous growth events, would be best informed to identify continuous improvements and that local knowledge and experience, could be shared with others seeking to contribute to positive impacts of growth.

 

The group agreed that inaction was the most likely factor that would inevitably lead to history repeating itself or issues emerging without sufficient intervention. To avoid competing interests and lagging or reactive impact management strategies, a local, shared position and strategy on effective growth mitigations needed to be proactively agreed. Working Group members identified what local knowledge would be needed to inform the decisions of ‘experts’ as early preparation for the new wave of growth emerged. The work of the Growth Management Working Group informed the development of and early actions of the Housing Round Table.

 

Housing Round Table (2023 – to date)

A Housing Meeting was held in November 2023 leading to establishment of the Housing Round Table, since that time:

 

• Housing issues unpacked and defined across the range of supports and needs relevant to the Gladstone Region

• Identified data requested from multiple sources including Government partners

• Assessment of housing data sought from multiple sources

• Previous growth trends and patterns identified and quantified

• Future population and housing projections assessed and included for planning

• Information sharing across a range of current local issues and historical experiences                                                                 including community voice and lived experience

• Input into the Local Housing Action Plan through consultation with Gladstone                                                                                    Regional Council

• Methodology developed for Housing Strategy

• Strategy in development (May 2024)

 

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