Minister for Housing and Homelessness John Carey announces 16 new social houses with 12 more in the pipeline

Albany residents sitting on the waiting list for social housing can see light on the horizon as a new stock of units reaches completion and more are added to the pipeline. Minister for Housing and Homelessness John Carey announced the completion of 16 new units in Yakamia and Spencer Park on Tuesday, providing a needed boost to the market. Split evenly between the two suburbs, the homes consist of three two-bedroom, one-bathroom units and 13 one-bedroom, one-bathroom units. The units, which were built by Wauters Building Company, are in the process of being allocated to people on the waiting list. Also in the pipeline are another 12 social homes, to be built on State Government-owned land in McKail in early 2025. Involving six one-bedroom and six two-bedroom homes, the project will be lead by the My Home organisation funded by the Federal government, built by Smith Constructions and managed by not-for-profit Advance Housing, who were granted a 40-year ground lease of the site. Advance chief executive John Lysaught said creative arrangements between different sectors were key to addressing the housing deficit gripping the state. “The shortages have never been as high as they are, but you can see from the efforts of everyone involved that supply is starting to increase,” he said. “But it’s not a light-switch moment. “We’ve got to keep coming up with innovative ways of delivering these housing options.” Mr Carey said the additional homes would “bolster the supply of safe, secure and affordable housing to the most vulnerable members of the Albany community”. “Our Government continues to do everything we can to bolster the supply of social housing across Western Australia including through our record $4.5 billion commitments in housing and homelessness reforms,” he said. Mr Carey said the state government has built more than 2600 social homes, with more than 1000 social homes currently under contract or construction, throughout WA. “We’ve been very clear — we’re not stopping our reforms to bolster housing supply,” he said. “This remains a key priority for the Cook Labor Government, and we’ll keep doing everything we can to boost housing supply across Western Australia, particularly in the regions.” Member for Rebecca Stephens said she was “deeply proud” to see the region receive its share of accommodation options for its most vulnerable.