Category Archives: Announcements

Commonwealth funding update

Posted on by

You’ll remember we posted before about the Federal FaHCSIA bureaucrats working hard on the funding contracts for tenant advice service and then there was an announcement that the state would administer the funds.  That means the same bureaucrats will be both wrapping up one contract to withdraw state funds, whilst signing a new contract for virtually the same services with the Commonwealth funding.

It was hoped the new contracts would be out by now, given the state funding withdrawal date of October 31 but there seems to have been a delay.  Services do not yet know when agreements will come out or how much their funding will be.  It is a nervous time for tenant advice services and workers.

Commonwealth emergency funding to be administered by the state

Posted on by

Tenant advice services across the state just received information that the State government will now administer the emergency funding from the Commonweatlh.  On one hand the state will be wrapping up funding contracts with services whilst on the other signing up new agreements relying on the Commonwealth money.

We’ll keep you updated.

Minister to face budget questions today

Posted on by

As we mentioned the other day, October 18 is the state budget estimate hearings for

From Qld parliament website

the Housing portfolio. That means the Minister for Housing will face questions from the opposition parties about the budget allocations in an open hearing process. We’re keen to hear if he gets any questions about the tenant advice service cuts and his decision to re allocate these monies even though they come from tenants own bond interest.

Progress on emergency Federal funding

Posted on by

We heard there’s been some very busy bureaucrats in the federal Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) this week. They’ve been working out how to pay out the Gillard government’s emergency funding to the network of tenant advice services and the Tenants’ Union before the state government funding is cut at the end of October. Apparently very good progress has been made but there’s still a bit of work to do yet.

World Homelessness Day today!

Posted on by

Today’s World Homelessness Day, aimed at raising awareness about homelessness in our communities. At the pointy end of their work, tenant advocates assist people to avoid homelessness and remain adequately housed.  Where this cannot be achieved, tenant advisors help the tenant to extract themselves from the situation with the least long term impact and so they can re enter the rental market as quickly as possible.

Last week Homelessness Australia sent out a press release which articulated why we should celebrate the Federal government stepping in to fund the Queensland Tenant Advice and Advocacy Services and how our services contribute to lowering rates of homelessness.  Read the article here.

You helped Save Tenant Services – thank you!

Posted on by

You helped Save Tenant Services. Thank you.

Whilst we still have a long way to go to secure the long term future of the 22 local tenant advice services and the Tenants’ Union of Queensland, this week we had a significant win with the Federal government offering emergency funding to assist us until the end of June 2013.

And we want to stop for a moment and say thank you .This significant achievement would not have happened without each and every one of you.  Whatever you have done, little or big, your efforts have helped us to get here.  We’re going to be asking you to help us again in the near future but today is the day to say thank you, thank you, thank you.  Your contribution has been vital in helping us along our way.

Gillard government rescues tenant advice services with emergency funding

Posted on by

As many of you will have now heard, the Gillard government, through Federal Housing Minister Brendan O’Connor, has announced $3.3M in interim, emergency funding for the 23 de-funded Tenant Advice and Advocacy Services.  Read Minister O’Connor’s.announcement here.

These monies will proportionally fund each service between October and June 2013.

This decision by the Federal government is a life line to Queensland tenants who would otherwise be left without access to any free specialised tenant advice services from the end of this month. The Save Tenant Services group wishes to thank the Federal Minister and government for their support.

This does not mean, however, that our campaign is over.  We still need to pressure the state government to stop using tenant bond interest for other purposes over advice and advocacy for all Queensland tenants.

Last year $5M was provided by the Residential Tenancies Authority to the Department of Housing for the TAAS program.  This year, the Queensland Housing Minister, after deciding not to fund TAAS services, then required $7M to be provided for social housing.  All from tenant bond interest.

Queensland tenants are the big winner today, but now the Queensland government needs to step up to the mark, stop taxing tenants of their bond interest and divert those $7M back into services designed and specifically for all Queensland tenants.

For helping get us to this point, we want to thank you all – Queensland tenants and the TAAS services themselves, support services in local communities who have so passionately supported the TAASs, state, national agencies, the Australian Services Union, the Opposition parties.  At risk of missing significant supporters, we want to thank QAILS and NACLC and Community Law Australia.  There are so many organisations and individuals that have helped.  Please stay tuned, we still need your help.

Send your notice to remedy breach to the Housing Minister today!

Posted on by

In celebration of International Tenants’ Day, we need your help again today, Tuesday October 2.  Send a Notice to Remedy Breach to Housing Minister Bruce Flegg, asking him to remedy his breach and reinstate funding for free, universally accessible tenant advice services.  At the Save Tenant Services headquarters, we’re about to send ours off!

For those of you who don’t know how these tenancy forms work, you have to tell the other person what their breach is and ask them to rectify it by a specified date.  On October 2, you can describe the breach in your own words or use one of our suggestions, then ask the Minister to rectify the problem by October 31, the date on which the Tenant Advice and Advocacy Service funding will be discontinued.   

How to help step by step:

  1. Fill in a Form 11 Notice to Remedy Breach – (you can make up your own or use samples).  Use the NTRB filled in or fill in the empty  NTRB here.
  2. Today, October 2, email or fax this notice to the HOUSING MINISTER to  [email protected] or (Fax) 07 3012 9017  or send it by Australia Post to GPO Box 2457 BRISBANE   QLD 4001
  3. Tell your friends, family and colleagues to join the action.

If you would like to learn more about International Tenants’ Day 2012 please read this link.  Or visit the IUT’s website at http://www.iut.nu/ 

On August 28, the Day of Action, we sent messages and made phone calls to the Minister.  We delivered postcards to the Premier.  The government needs another reminder, send a Notice to Remedy Breach today, October 2.

PS International Tenants’ Day is actually on the first Monday of October, which is the 1st this year, but because it’s a holiday, we’re sending the notice to remedy to reach the Minister on Tuesday October the second.

Happy International Tenants’ Day 2012!!

Posted on by

International Union of Tenants

For all you tenants and tenant supporters, Happy International Tenants’ Day (ITD)!!  Celebrated annually on the first Monday in October and coinciding with the UN World Habitat Day, this year’s theme is rental housing, why we like it!

So sit back and read here hereabout why the European based International Union of Tenants thinks that rental housing is so good. .There’s more information on the International Union of Tenants website as www.iut.nu

For those of you helping us celebrate ITD by sending a Notice to Remedy Breach to the Queensland Housing Minister, remember we’re not doing this until tomorrow, Tuesday October 2 due to the public holiday (read our previous post).

Goodbye advocates for caravan & mobile home parks residents

Posted on by

So the reality of the Minister’s decision to cut funding to tenant advice and advocacy services is coming to fruition.  WIth most funding being cut at the end of October, two services, the Caravan and Mobile Home Residents Association (CAMRA) and the Sunshine Coast TAAS only have funding until the end of September.

Whilst the Sunshine Coast service is scouting for options to continue in some form, CAMRA held a farewell after deciding at a recent meeting to disband.  We hope to get a piece on this site from CAMRA soon outlining their trials and triumphs.  But for now, here’s some pictures of the front of their office.

After 20 years of working with residents in caravan and mobile home parks, there will be no specialist advocacy service for those renters.  CAMRA was instrumental in the then government’s decision to buy Monte Carlo, a caravan park in Cannon Hill, Brisbane, to save it from redevelopment.  That’s the same park the government has now said they will sell.  See the pictures below.  Continue reading →

International Tenants’ Day – 1st Monday in October

Posted on by

The first Monday in October is International Tenants’ Day.  The theme this year is Rental Housing – why we like it!   Whilst will be a bit of a sad ITD this year in Queensland, with the withdrawal of funding to important services which assist tenants remain appropriately and safely housed, we’re going to do something special to let the Minister for Housing know how important these services are.  And we’re going to be asking for your help!  Watch this space!

Send 5 to keep us alive! And win a campaign t-shirt!

Posted on by

We’re launching our new postcard campaign and here’s what we’re hoping you’ll do to help us.

We want you to recruit 5 friends or family members to send off postcards to the Premier and the Housing Minister to seek funding reinstatement.  To get the postcards, you only need to email us at [email protected] and tell us how many postcards you want and if you’d like them posted or emailed to you. And of course you’ll have to get your friends to put stamps on them.  We’re going to give a free Save Tenant Services t-shirt to the first two supporters who tell us they’ve got 5 people to send the postcards in!  You might have noticed the shirts in photos on our site.

We still want you to write letters to your local MP, the Housing Minister and the Premier, these are very effective, but our postcard campaign is about getting more people involved in our campagin to seek funding reinstatement for the Tenant Advice and Advocacy Program.  To see the postcards in full size continue reading.

Continue reading →