Type Department Headquarters Sydney | Jurisdiction New South Wales | |
Formed 11 June 2008 as Housing NSW
20 February 1942 as the Housing Commission of New South Wales Preceding agencies New South Wales Department of Housing (1986 - 2008)
Housing Commission of New South Wales (1942 - 1985) Minister responsible Hon. Pru Goward MP, Minister for Family and Community Services (New South Wales) | ||
Housing NSW is an agency of the Department of Family and Community Services that is responsible for the provision and management of public housing services with the aim to prevent homelessness in the state of New South Wales, Australia.
The agency was established pursuant to the Housing Act 2001 (NSW).
Purpose and function
Housing NSW provides a range of services including public and community housing, housing for people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds, support services for people with special needs linked to government and non-government agencies, private rental assistance and subsidies, advice and assistance for home-buyers, the development of affordable housing, community regeneration, and development and regulation of social housing policies.
Initially the role of the Housing Commission was to investigate housing affordability and standards, co-ordinate with associated agencies, publish its findings and general information about housing, take steps to improve housing standards and recommend further legislation.
The commission was responsible for the provision of post-war housing in the 1940s and 1950s, often using cheap fibro materials due to shortages of other materials such as bricks. It was also responsible for slum clearance in the 1960s and the replacement of terraced housing in the Waterloo area with high rise public housing towers. In the 1970s, the now-discredited American Radburn style of public housing was used, especially in the south western suburbs of Sydney.