First Nations housing and homelessness

All Queenslanders should have a safe and secure place to call home, but First Nations peoples experience more challenges to finding stable housing and moving into home ownership.

The Queensland Government is working towards a future where First Nations peoples in Queensland have a fairer housing system.

We have launched Our Place, an 8-year strategy and 4-year action plan to close the housing gap for First Nations peoples in Queensland.

Our Place will help shape a fairer housing system and contribute towards closing the housing gap for First Nations peoples in Queensland by 2031.

Our Place includes:

• Our Place: A First Nations Housing and Homelessness Roadmap to 2031 (PDF, 2831.12 KB) (Our Place Roadmap) a strategy for change over the next 8 years, delivered through 2 consecutive 4-year action plans
• Our Place: A First Nations Housing and Homelessness Action Plan 2024–2027 (PDF, 3506.45 KB) (Our Place Action Plan) sets out the actions to accelerate change and deliver housing solutions for First Nations peoples in Queensland.

Backed by a $61.3 million investment, Our Place Action Plan will accelerate First Nations housing outcomes over the next 4 years to deliver outcomes across the whole housing and homelessness systems.

Our Place was co-designed with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Housing Queensland, the peak body for First Nations Housing and is informed by the voices of more than 300 people and organisations.

It has put First Nations peoples’ lived experiences and wisdom at the heart of how solutions will be designed and delivered, reflecting community’s concerns, values, needs and aspirations.

Our Place will maximise outcomes for First Nations peoples and communities and make strong progress towards closing the housing gap in Queensland.

The case for change

First Nations peoples in Queensland are experiencing a housing gap.

The underlying causes are complex and may include:

• racism and historical exclusion from education and employment
• lack of understanding of family and kinship structures and mainstream housing
• service industry responses that lack cultural safety.

According to data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, First Nations peoples are 6 times more likely to experience homelessness than other Queenslanders.

Their research also shows that First Nations peoples are more than 10 times more likely to live in social housing than other Queenslanders.

Without the foundation of a secure home, First Nations peoples are further marginalised and excluded from opportunities for social, cultural and economic participation, compromising the impact of investment and efforts to close the gap.

What will be delivered

Our Place Action Plan delivers 27 actions across 5 outcome areas.

The 5 outcome areas are:

Partnerships and shared responsibility

Whole-of-system responsibility and accountability for First Nations housing outcomes, guided by First Nations leadership and shared decision-making.

Actions include:

• developing First Nations Housing and Homelessness Practice Standards to guide culturally safe service delivery
• enhancing and expanding Local Housing Plans and addressing systemic barriers limiting place-based decision-making.

Strong sector

Grow the size, viability and sustainability of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled sector to deliver housing and homelessness outcomes.

Actions include:

• establishing a Queensland Indigenous Community Housing Maintenance and Upgrades Grant program to build the capacity of the sector and deliver more community housing supply, supported by education and quality assurance
• reducing barriers and red tape for Indigenous community housing organisations aspiring to sustainable participation in the National Regulatory System for Community Housing (NRSCH) scheme.

A reliable and culturally safe service and support system

Shape fair, more reliable, accessible, integrated and culturally safe housing and homelessness support and services.

Actions include:

• reducing homelessness by providing essential housing plus support for vulnerable First Nations peoples transitioning out of the criminal justice system
• increasing the number of First Nations community-controlled organisations delivering specialist homelessness services.

Culturally responsive supply solutions

Deliver more culturally responsive affordable supply solutions that meet the needs of First Nations peoples in Queensland.

Actions include:

• develop First Nations Housing Design Guidelines to deliver contemporary designs that meet the location and cultural needs of First Nations peoples
• maximise opportunities for the Indigenous building and construction industry and deliver apprenticeships and training.

Private market pathways

Increase access for First Nations peoples living in Queensland to private market rental and home ownership opportunities.

Actions include:

• deliver subsidised modular homes for First Nations peoples in regional and rural locations
• create home ownership materials, educational resources and guidance to equip potential First Nations home owners with the essential skills and knowledge needed.

Read all 27 actions under the Our Place Action Plan in the full document (PDF, 3506.45 KB).

How we will deliver

The next steps on the journey towards a fairer housing future for First Nations peoples in Queensland must:

• build on the important work already done
• benefit from evidence of what works
• be co-designed with First Nations communities, First Nations peoples, local government authorities and non-government organisations, supported by industry and sector partners.

Principles in action

Partnership principles will steer how government and the sector will work together, guided by First Nations knowledge, with self-determination at the core.

Partnership principles are:

• Core principle: Enable self-determination
• Deliver place-based and person-centred responses
• Assert housing as central to physical, social and community wellbeing
• Embrace truth-telling, build cultural safety and eliminate racism
• Deliver long-term skilling and economic benefit for First Nations communities
• Pursue First Nations-led evidence-based responses and embed data sovereignty.

Governance committee for First Nations housing and homelessness

We have established the Queensland First Nations Housing and Homelessness Partnership (the Partnership) to empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to share decision-making authority with the Queensland Government.

Over the next 2 years, the Partnership will:

• co-design a long-term approach to sharing decision-making authority with First Nations peoples across Queensland
• shape policy recommendations with investment decisions relating to First Nations housing and homelessness reforms, with a focus on positive impact and value
• inform Queensland’s participation in the Closing the Gap Housing Policy Partnership.

Find out more about the Partnership.

Our Place consultation

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples know what is best for their communities.

Evidence shows First Nations peoples do best when solutions are grounded in culture and led by community.

More than 300 people and organisations had their say on Our Place and it was co-designed with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Housing Queensland, the peak body for First Nations housing.

Submissions and stakeholder feedback were collated, analysed and presented in the Our Place Consultation Summary (PDF, 4214.21 KB).

Our Place builds on the foundations of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Housing Action Plan 2019–23 (PDF, 3866.57 KB) (the first action plan) to respond to the housing challenges faced by First Nations peoples.

We have released the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Housing Action Plan 2019–2023 Final report (PDF, 1373.09 KB), which outlines the outcomes of the first action plan.

Challenges were experienced during delivery, including:

• the COVID-19 pandemic
• public health
• biosecurity measures that restricted travel to remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities for 2 years between 2020 and 2022.

Despite the challenges, 10 of the 15 actions are complete or in ongoing delivery; the remaining 5 actions will continue to be delivered in the Our Place Action Plan.

The first action plan created the foundations for a transformational new way of working, enabling community-led delivery of culturally appropriate housing solutions.

This has paved the way for the Our Place Action Plan to comprehensively accelerate Queensland’s progress towards closing the housing gap in Queensland over the next 4 years.