By Victoria Stone-Meadows
A community legal service has slammed the State Government for removing funding for a program that specifically assists vulnerable people living in illegal rooming houses in Melbourne’s South East.
However, the government has denied it has cut funding for the program and says instead it has integrated the scheme into a wider suite of services.
The Peninsula Community Legal Centre which runs the Rooming House Outreach Program in Melbourne’s south east suburbs has accused the State Government of dismantling the program.
The centre claims, in the last 12 months, it has assisted 1237 people living in the South East in vulnerable housing stations via the Rooming House Outreach Program.
Due a restructure of homeless and housing relief services conducted by the State Government, the centre will no longer run the program.
Peninsula Community Legal Centre CEO Jackie Galloway said the program provided support to assist people in both registered and illegal rooming houses that might be isolated from assistance services.
“This is a specialist service visiting registered and unregistered rooming houses in the southern and eastern suburbs of Melbourne identifying vulnerable people and providing vital support services,” she said.
“The loss of this program will see vulnerable rooming house residents face uncertainty about their rights and responsibilities particularly during this time of major legislative change for the rooming house sector.”
However, Minister for Consumer Affairs Marlene Kairouz said the program would be absorbed into a wider ranging suit of services that would provide better access and assistance for vulnerable people.
“The Rooming House Outreach Program will become a more comprehensive, state-wide Tenancy Assistance and Advocacy Program (TAAP),” Ms Kairouz said.
“The Rooming House Outreach Program was delivered out of just two metropolitan locations,” she said.
“This new program goes much further by engaging 13 community- based agencies across the state to reach tenants who need help – including many rooming house residents outside of Melbourne.”
The new program will take effect from 30 June this year, and will see 13 separate community-based agencies to deliver the TAAP across the state.
The government claims that under the new TAAP funding model there will be 14 full-time equivalent positions available to provide direct and outreach support to vulnerable tenants
Ms Galloway said the TAAP didn’t have the level of community engagement that the old program did and vulnerable people would suffer with these changes.
“Under the new program, as we understand it, we won’t have the same capacity to do the same level of visiting rooming houses and welfare checks,” she said.
“This should be a time for additional support for rooming house residents, particularly for those vulnerable community members residing in unregistered, illegal and substandard rooming houses.”
“We urge the State Government to review this decision.”
