The NSW Government is today announcing the first tranche of social homes that will undergo critical maintenance upgrades under the $1 billion Repair and Restore Maintenance blitz announced in the recent budget to fix 30,000 public homes in desperate need of repair.
The NSW Government has also now reached the next milestone in its commitment to overhauling the public housing maintenance system with the launch of The Maintenance Hub and bringing critical maintenance services back in public hands.
This puts the NSW Government back in control of essential public housing maintenance.
Repair and Restore Maintenance blitz
From today, Homes NSW will begin scoping the first 750 homes located within 55 Local Government Areas (LGA's) which have so far been earmarked, including:
- 65 homes in the Blacktown LGA
- 47 homes in the Wollongong LGA
- 44 homes in the Campbelltown LGA
- 44 homes in the Cumberland LGA
- 43 homes in the Newcastle LGA
- 43 homes in the Canterbury-Bankstown LGA
Following a comprehensive process, six tenderers have been selected to partner with Homes NSW to deliver maintenance works for the state's social housing portfolio.
The successful businesses chosen to partner with Homes NSW to deliver the new maintenance system include:
- Assett Group Services Pty Ltd;
- BGIS Pty Ltd;
- Programmed Facility Maintenance Pty Ltd;
- Downer Spotless Facility Services Pty Ltd;
- SR Construction Pty Ltd; and
- Ventia
Four of the six companies are new providers to the maintenance service delivery. This means a fresh approach to the organisations the NSW Government partners with for its maintenance work delivery.
The contracts went live from 1 July 2024.
Together we will ensure a renewed focus on maintenance quality and timely delivery of maintenance and repairs.
The Maintenance Hub
From July 1, requests from tenants will be coordinated and managed directly by Homes NSW staff to ensure the works and customer service are delivered at a high standard.
Under the former government maintenance of social housing was privatised, which left a maintenance system that was confusing, disjointed and unworkable.
Tenants were bouncing between departments with requests being stalled by bureaucracies and a lack of accountability.
The new Maintenance Hub will mean improved responses, with trained experts who can better address tenants' questions, coordinate work orders and deliver better outcomes for tenants.
Homes NSW will triage, scope and issue work orders while the contractors will be the ones to attend site for work delivery.
Homes NSW will focus on a better customer experience by establishing a new in-house Maintenance Hub to manage tenant repairs requests, investing in a new tenant portal to track repair works and by ensuring more Homes NSW staff are on the ground to monitor work.
Under this new approach, tenants will now be given the opportunity to sign off on works to improve accountability and to ensure tenants have a voice.
A dedicated Specialised Fire Safety Services team will maintain the essential active and complex fire safety systems within the Homes NSW portfolio servicing approximately 600 buildings.
The NSW Government's maintenance approach will support small businesses, local tradies, and local jobs especially in our regions as well as new jobs created for disability and community service providers, Aboriginal trades and businesses, and social housing tenants.
Under the Building Homes for NSW program the NSW Government will address longstanding maintenance issues after over a decade of out-sourcing, neglect and chronic underfunding.
For more information about the government's overhauling of maintenance, visit the Homes NSW website https://nsw.gov.au/homesnsw-maintenance
Minister for Housing and Homelessness Rose Jackson said:
"We are wasting no time at all since announcing the critical maintenance funding in last months budget. We are getting on with the job by identifying regions where our existing homes need resorting back to their former glory, ensuring homes aren't falling into disrepair while also enabling people on the waitlist to have a roof over their heads sooner.
"This is about putting residents of our public housing properties at the heart of what we do and by working cohesively with experienced partners to deliver our maintainence, we can ensure basic requests like leaking taps aren't left for months on end without resolution.
"This is about putting the NSW Government back in control of essential maintenance services.
"This reformed maintenance system is exactly that. We are introducing change to improve the way it currently operates and we know it won't be fixed overnight and will take time for us to work through teething issues. During this time we ask for your patience.
"An important part of these partnerships means we will be supporting small businesses, local tradies and jobs especially in our regions as they will act as the delivery arm of our reformed maintenance system."
