Tenants’ Union welcomes Labor’s flagged shift on renters’ rights

The Tenants' Union of NSW has released the following statement about reported changes to the NSW Labor Party's Sustainable Communities platform

NSW Labor has flagged a new policy agenda that could change the game for renters, says Tenants’ Union NSW.

Over the weekend, the NSW Labor party’s conference recognised a growing number of families rent their homes in New South Wales, and pledged to modernise rental laws to provide certainty, balance and fairness in the rental market. Early reports suggest this could include placing limits on rent increases, ending unfair evictions, and strengthening rights for renters with pets.

“These would be significant reforms, they’d be welcomed by renters right across New South Wales,” said Ned Cutcher, Senior Policy Officer with the state’s peak body for renters. “The Tenants’ Union of NSW has been calling for this kind of reform for years and it is extremely encouraging to see the discussion taking prominence.”

Mr Cutcher was quick to point out that the NSW Labor party changing its platform at conference time, while in opposition, does not necessarily lead to reform.

“The timing is good because the Government has still not brought in the changes it promised over a year ago, following a statutory review of our renting laws,” Mr Cutcher said. “We’re obviously following that pretty closely, and now we’ll be watching to see how Labor responds when those changes are brought through.”

“We know the NSW Greens have a strong renters’ rights platform so it makes for some healthy debate in Parliament when the time comes.”

Mr Cutcher said a limit on the frequency of rent increases would bring New South Wales into line with the rest of the country, but ending unfair evictions and strengthening rights for renters with pets would be genuine innovations in the Australian context.

“All over the country tenants can be evicted without a good reason, and all over the country families are prevented from making decisions about keeping pets because their landlords say no. For the growing number of renters across Australia these rules seem pretty harsh,” Mr Cutcher said.

“We’d love to see this change in New South Wales and we’ll happily work with NSW Labor to help develop these policies.”

For that matter, we’d love to work with Minister Matt Kean and the NSW Government on this all the more.

National Reconciliation Week

This post written by our Legal Officer - Aboriginal Support, Jessica Hall. Along with an Aboriginal Paralegal, Jessica works to support the Aboriginal Tenants' Advice and Advocacy Services and conduct litigation to advance legal rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tenants in NSW.

This week is National Reconciliation Week, recognised each year between May 27th-June 3rd and placed during this time due to two significant milestones in Australia’s journey to reconciliation: the 1967 Referendum (May 27th) and the historic 1992 Mabo decision (June 3rd).

This year in particular, marks important anniversaries of both these events – 50 years since the referendum that amended the Australian Constitution to legally recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and 25 years since the landmark Mabo decision which legally recognised native title rights in Australia for the first time.

Here at the Tenant’s Union, we marked this week with a successful morning tea yesterday organised by our Aboriginal Paralegal John in collaboration with Community Legal Centres NSW, National Association of Community Legal Centres and Justice Connect, to host friends and colleagues in the spirit of reconciliation.

As we commemorate these two milestones with NRW events around the country, we ask that all Australians join together in a unified front to be a part of the journey to reconciliation, mutual respect and a better future for our first Australians.

The motto for this year’s NRW is ‘let’s take the next steps’, reflecting that we are all responsible collectively for the future of reconciliation in Australia. The Uluru Statement from the Heart speaks to the next steps to come, and the long journey to be taken together as Australian people for a better future.

Happy anniversary, Tenants' Union of NSW

The very first meeting of the Tenants' Union of NSW was held 40 years ago today, on August 17th 1976. We are now 40 years strong.

Past and present staff and board members of the Tenants' Union,
celebrating 40 years of advocacy

We've been building up to this milestone all year. We launched our celebrations with a BBQ at Northcott Towers, sharing food and cake with good friends and colleagues. We've shared 40 moments from our organisation and our network's history, reflecting on the great work of tenants' advocates past and present. And we've compiled a 40th anniversary bumper edition of the Tenants' News.

On Monday we threw a bit of a birthday bash, including a half-day forum on the future of tenants' rights. We've already shared some of the best bits on Facebook, and we'll be adding a few more over the next couple of days.

Oh, and we've produced a half-hour movie that tells our story. We're really quite proud of it - we'd love for you to check it out.

Happy anniversary, Tenants Union of NSW!

Tenants: what will it take for you to adopt a greyhound?

Earlier this month Premier Mike Baird announced the closure of the NSW greyhound racing industry, following a Special Commission report into widespread cruelty. The industry will be wound up in an orderly fashion, with a plan to be implemented over the next 12 months. More information can be found in a published Q&A document from NSW Justice.

The dogs of NSW's racing industry will need new homes

According to the document, there are nearly 7,000 registered greyhounds in NSW. It proposes four ways of transitioning them out of the NSW racing industry: leaving them in their current homes, rehoming them through an adoption program, sending them to other states or countries where the racing industry will treat them better, or euthanise them humanely.

We reckon the first two options look the best. So, it stands to reason that one of the biggest tasks for the industry over the next year will be finding new homes for greyhounds that will no longer be able to race in NSW.

Gemma McKinnon, a long-time friend of the Brown Couch, former Tenants' Advocate and one-time lawyer at the Tenants Union of NSW, would love to adopt one. But she has a problem - her landlord won't allow it. And while renting laws in NSW don't specifically require tenants to get their landlord's permission to keep a pet, most residential tenancy agreements do. She's started a change.org petition to draw attention to this, pointing out that "current tenancy laws in NSW mean that many potential greyhound owners are unable to assist in rehoming greyhounds because landlords can (and often do) refuse tenant requests to have pets in their home".

We've long advocated for a prohibition on "no-pets" clauses in tenancy agreements. We argued for this during the recent review of the Residential Tenancies Act, but unfortunately Fair Trading NSW has made no such recommendation in their report. In fact, they've declined to make any comment on the issue altogether. Given the Government's intention to shut down the greyhound racing industry and create a flood of animals facing euthanasia if they cannot be rehomed, this is a terrible shame.

One in three households in NSW are in a rented home. That's an awful lot of people who might put their hand up to help out, if only they could. Ms McKinnon's petition has attracted more than a thousand signatures since it was launched earlier this week. That's quite an indication of support.

Fair Trading and the NSW Government should reconsider their position on this.

Long live public housing in Millers Point!

Tomorrow marks the two year anniversary of the announced sell-off of public housing in Millers Point and The Rocks. This is significant, because the "project" of relocating tenants was given two years to run.

To celebrate their survival remaining tenants will march tomorrow, down Kent Street to the Village Green. Why not join them?

While you're there, reflect upon the resilience of the remaining 75 households. Reflect upon the hundreds of properties that have been vacated, and the tenants who have now moved on.

Reflect upon the 58 properties that have been sold to date for around $150million. With almost 300 more properties to be sold, reflect upon the price of an iconic and historic Sydney suburb.

Reflect upon the history and the heritage in the place. From the significance of these sites as Gadigal country - Australia's first displaced people - to the beginnings and tensions of a penal colony. To Australia's first government owned rental housing, the proposed redevelopment of the 1960s, and the Green Bans movement that followed...

Throughout it all, ordinary Sydneysiders have made this place their home. Reflect upon that tomorrow, as they're marching down Kent Street to celebrate their survival.

And reflect upon it again, as the highest bidders continue to roll in to capture the spoils.

Happy International Women's Day!

In celebration of International Women's Day, the women of the TU have enthusiastically produced a special edition of Tenant News – our printed publication for tenants.

At the 2011 Census there were more than 950,000 women living in rented homes across New South Wales. Today there will be many thousands more. This issue of Tenant News tells some of their stories – stories of struggle and hope in finding home.

You’ll find women writing about the legal insecurity that impacts on their ability to make a home when renting, and about how LGBTIQ, refugee and older women face discrimination in the rental market. We also explore public housing redevelopment policies and more.

The common thread in all these stories is the search for stability, liveability and affordability when making a home. Renting laws can be changed to facilitate these basic needs. In our submission to the Residential Tenancies Act Review, we've asked Minister Dominello to do this by including changes to the law on evictions, rent increases and repairs. Read our full recommendations for change in our submission.

We've printed 4,000 copies of Tenant News – you should already have yours if you're on our postal list. If you'd like a copy (or many), please email us. Copies are free for tenants and community workers!

Please help us by giving Tenant News to other tenants, community workers and clients.

Stories in this issue include:

Women finding home

Women from a refugee background face a multitude of challenges and barriers when trying to find a place to call home in Australia. Read more

More than bricks and mortar

Robyn lives in south western Sydney and has experience as a tenant who has been through a redevelopment process in public housing. Read more

Women working for change

We talked to six women who live in residential parks who are all creating meaningful change within their communities. Read more

Transgender women & homelessness

Although only 7-11% of the population are same-sex attracted and/or transgender they constitute 25% of the young people who are homeless. Read more

A champion for housing rights

Ruth Simon has dedicated herself to ensuring justice for Aboriginal people through her work, both paid and unpaid. Read more

The Tenants' Union turns 40!

On Thursday 11 February the TU launched our 40th anniversary celebrations with a BBQ at Northcott Community Centre. Read more

When home isn't safe

Indigo is a 20 year old queer person who has felt unsafe at times, due to the behaviour of housemates in share housing. Read more

Is my residence my home?

One of the themes for the TU's 40th anniversary celebrations is My House, My Home. But is that true if you rent? Read more

Women tell their tenancy stories

Six women give different perspectives on the life of a tenant and what 'home' means to them. Read more

Tenancy Q&A: Domestic violence

Cass Wong, TU Litigation Solicitor, explains the steps required for a survivor of domestic violence to terminate their tenancy. Read more

Renting laws in review: our submission

Yesterday we published our response to Fair Trading's discussion paper as part of the statutory review of the Residential Tenancies Act 2010. You can find our submission here.

Responses to Fair Trading's discussion paper are due by the end of today, January 29 2016. If you haven't yet made a submission, we strongly encourage you to send one in now!

Making a submission couldn't be easier - all you need to do is send an email to policy@finance.nsw.gov.au saying why you think our renting laws should promote greater stability, liveability and affordability for tenants.

And while you're at it, why not drop in a line or two in support of our submission?

Cheers!

Let's put a white ribbon on the Residential Tenancies Act

Today is White Ribbon Day, and we swear to stand up, speak out and act to prevent men's violence against women. We do this is by offering a solution to some of the legal complexities that arise when two people live together as co-tenants, and one person is violent towards the other.

Violence between co-tenants creates some very difficult legal problems - aside from everything else - including in relation to a residential tenancy agreement. Co-tenants have joint and several liability under a residential agreement, meaning that each person named as a co-tenant is liable for the acts and omissions of the others. If, say, some damage is caused to the property during a violent outburst, the victim of that violence is just as liable as the perpetrator. Similarly, if one co-tenant leaves (perhaps because they are excluded by an interim apprehended violence order) and refuses to pay any more rent, arrears accrue against all co-tenants including those who remain in the property.

Under the old law, which was replaced by the Residential Tenancies Act 2010, this joint and several liability remained until the tenancy was terminated. This usually meant when all co-tenants had moved out and possession of the premises was returned to the landlord. When the current law was written, it introduced new provisions allowing a co-tenancy to end without substantially affecting the landlord/tenant relationship. One person can now get their name "taken off the lease" without any need to end the tenancy and establish a new one between the remaining occupant/s and the landlord.

This is great when people make voluntary decisions about who they want to live with, but that's not often the case where domestic violence is concerned. The law does allow a co-tenant to apply to the Tribunal to end the co-tenancy of another, but the Tribunal can only do so after considering the "special circumstances of the case". And any good Tenants' Advocate will tell you that there's nothing special about violence against women.

The new law also introduced a provision to deal more specifically with domestic violence between co-tenants. A person's interest in a tenancy now ends when a final apprehended violence order is made against them, if it includes an order excluding them from the premises. This is an operation of the law - it does not require an application to a Tribunal, or a letter to the landlord. It simply happens by virtue of the order being made.

But a final apprehended violence order is difficult to obtain. It can take a very long time to procure one, and in the process many co-tenants will stop residing with one another. In circumstances where the co-tenancy can't end by agreement - which is not uncommon where violence against women is concerned - or by an application to the Tribunal, parties remain just as jointly and severally liable while waiting for a final AVO as they would have been under the old law.

This can be easily fixed - all it will take is two small changes to the law. First, the Tribunal should be required to consider only the "circumstances", rather than "special circumstances", when hearing an application to end a co-tenancy. Second, a person in need of protection should be able to apply to the Tribunal to end a co-tenancy on the grounds that an interim apprehended violence order has been made. Such applications should be heard on the papers, without the need for a full hearing that would put a survivor and their assailant in the same room together.

Fair Trading NSW is in the process of reviewing the Residential Tenancies Act, and they ought to be looking at these provisions. Unfortunately their discussion paper makes no mention of domestic violence, other than to note the changes that were brought in with the current law.

That shouldn't stop us from talking about it, and bringing it to their attention.

You can contribute to Fair Trading's discussion paper online by clicking here.

Ignored NFP bill deserves our attention

Despite its sexy ‘bear pit’ moniker, few would argue that much of what happens in NSW Parliament is decidedly unfashionable, and ignored by the majority. Didn’t catch debate on the Impounding Amendment (Unattended Boat Trailers) Bill 2015 earlier this week? Thought not.

The legislature’s private members bills, we suggest, exist squarely within this vacuum. But one that made its way into Hansard in recent weeks has certainly piqued our attention.

Tales from The Lost World of private members bills…

On June 26 2015, Shadow Attorney-General Paul Lynch introduced the Non-Profit Bodies (Freedom to Advocate) Bill. As its straight shooting title suggests, the bill would ensure state funding agreements with not for profit bodies cannot include clauses restricting the recipient from advocating on law and policy issues. It bears a very strong resemblance to a Federal Government Act from 2013, covering Commonwealth-Not For Profit funding agreements. We endorsed that measure as “very good for the quality of our democracy”, for reasons also captured in Lynch’s second reading speech on the NSW Bill:

“A strong, innovative, independent not-for-profit sector is essential to getting government policy right and building a fairer community.”

More particularly, as the resourcing body for Tenants’ Advice and Advocacy Services in New South Wales, the Tenants’ Union exists in symbiosis with those front line organisations. Those are very much the kind of services whose work the bill intends to protect. And their capacity to engage in systemic advocacy can undoubtedly complement and enhance our own. Indeed, many TAAS services have played an active role in the discourse surrounding the Residential Tenancies and Housing Legislation Amendment(Public Housing - Antisocial Behaviour) Bill 2015 - providing submissions, explaining the impact of the proposed reform to Members of Parliament, and liaising with colleagues elsewhere in the community sector. The ongoing More Bang for Your Bond campaign – a joint initiative of the TU and tenants’ services – is another fine example of the work we do together.

Regrettably, the Bill met an untimely fate in the Legislative Assembly. In outlining the Government’s opposition to the Bill, Attorney General Gabrielle Upton described it as predicated on a “false and misleading” premise. The Attorney General further opined:

“We are notional trustees for [funding] dollars, and that responsibility means that they must go to the areas of greatest need where they can make the greatest difference to the lives of the people in our community…Those principles specifically seek to ensure limited funds for public legal assistance are directed towards legal representation, casework, and advice for disadvantaged and vulnerable people.” 

But this is, in our network’s experience, a false dichotomy. Our systemic advocacy work is always informed by the experiences of renters as revealed through advice, casework, and representation. Moreover, we see campaigning for improved laws and policies affecting renters, and engaging in client work to ensure best outcomes under the current regime, as pursuits of the same end – in the Attorney General’s words, ‘making the greatest difference to the lives of the people in our community.’ This is only possible through both systemic and client advocacy. Not to mention the quality of the investment. As the ALP’s Jo Haylen noted in the same debate, not-for-profits 

“provide critical services to our most vulnerable across every sector in the community…According to the Australian Bureau of statistics they contribute $43 billion to Australia’s gross domestic product and engage more than 4.6 million volunteers each year.”

Nonetheless, it follows that a legislated freedom to advocate is likely not to come to be for our sector in this 56th Parliament - the Bill banished to footnote status in its history.

But we continue to support its content as vital to ensuring maximum effectiveness for the tenancy network, and indeed the state's non-profit sector as a whole. 

Stepping up to end homelessness - Tenants Advice and Advocacy Services

Welcome to Homelessness Prevention Week 2015. This year, Homelessness Australia asks "How will you step up to end homelessness in Australia?"

Stepping up to end homelessness sounds pretty daunting, but there are many ways to contribute to this cause. In fact, Homelessness Australia has already suggested a few:

• raise community awareness and understanding of homelessness
• increase community connection for those who are homeless, or at risk of homelessness
• recognise the individuals and groups who help those experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness
• increase community understanding and connections for those working in the homelessness sector

We like to think we're doing a little of these things each time we cross paths on the Brown Couch - whether we're talking about how our state and federal tax settings contribute to an unaffordable private rental market, banging on about the need to change renting laws for the better, or drawing attention to the good things our friends and colleagues in the community sector do.

Today we'd like to focus on the statewide network of Tenants' Advice and Advocacy Services. We've know we talk about them a lot, but they're important, and it's worth revisiting some of those discussions. In June 2013 we wrote about their quest to save once million tenancies, where we talked about the volume of the work they do, its sometimes adversarial nature (good if you're a tenant who needs help!), and the fact that a large part of their work is driven by landlords trying to end tenancies.

The most common [Tribunal] applications were in fact made by landlords - overwhelmingly, for the termination of a tenancy. In the Tenancy Division, there were 19,373 of these. In the Social Housing Division, there were 9,536. That's a total of 28,909 - almost as many contacts as TAASs had over the year!

And in another discussion we put some numbers on how Tenants' Advice and Advocacy Services prevent homelessness.

To investigate the TAASs' role in preventing homelessness, a six-month project was undertaken by 15 TAAP direct services. The data they recorded highlights the positive impact of support provided to clients whose tenancies were vulnerable.

During the course of the project, 516 tenancies at risk of termination were identified. As a result of the advice and advocacy provided by skilled TAAS workers, homelessness was averted in 424 cases (82.2 per cent).

It's great work, and it should be celebrated.

But it's also getting harder for the Tenants' Advice and Advocacy Services to do this work, because they have not seen a real increase in funding since 2002. Since then, the number of households living in rented accommodation has gone up by 25% in New South Wales. And because these services are funded by the interest on tenants' bonds, there is more than enough money available to invest more in these services.

So... one way you can step up to end homelessness is by stepping up to support Tenants' Advice and Advocacy Services. And you can do that by joining the campaign to get More Bang for Your Bond.

Visit the campaign on Facebook and Twitter, check out the website, and sign the online petition. Grab some of the More Bang for Your Bond postcards* and help build support!

*Let us know where you are and we'll send you as many as you'd like.

Cuts to community services

We support the call made today by the Councils of Social Services for the Federal Government to reverse funding cuts to much-needed community services.

From their media release:

Councils of Social Service  across Australia have today joined forces to call on the Federal Government to urgently reverse the damaging cuts to community services so that they can continue to support the country's most vulnerable.

The Federal Government has identified up to $1 billion in "savings measures" from community services that include:

• $270 million over four years to Department of Social Services;
• foreshadowed cut of $197 million to Department of Health;
• $500 million in cuts to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community services;
• additional cuts to legal services including Legal Aid and community legal services.

The Councils of Social Service across Australia are calling on the Federal Government to:

• Stop these funding cuts and determine, in partnership with the community service sector, adequate funding levels to meet community need and maximise social and economic participation for everyone.
• Extend current funding for organisations that have not yet been able to finalise new Government funding offers.
• Adopt the recommendations of the Productivity Commission to improve government contracting with community organisations.

Why you need More Bang for Your Bond!

Renting can come with one or two challenges in New South Wales, but often the first and most pressing is paying the bond. In Sydney, where median rents are pushing $500 a week, it means keeping a couple of grand handy just in case you need to move on short notice. But tenants can console themselves that they remain entitled to recover the bond as soon as their tenancy ends.

Bonds are tenants’ money – the Rental Bond Board only ever holds them on trust. Of course, a landlord can make a claim against a bond if the tenant has caused them some financial loss. But where there is a dispute about who gets the money, the landlord bears the onus of proof. They must demonstrate how and why it should be put towards their costs, because on the face of it the bond is the tenant’s money.

This brings us back to those challenges for tenants. From fending off opportunistic or even downright bogus bond claims, to trying to get your landlord to take an outbreak of mould in the bathroom seriously, renting a home comes with built-in levels of despair. No doubt there are stresses for landlords, too, but perhaps they’re not on the same scale.

There are very different outcomes pursued by those who place themselves at the whims of a rental market. For landlords it is generally a question of wealth creation. If it all gets too hard, it is easy enough to liquidate and find somewhere else to park your money. But for tenants it’s about keeping a roof over one’s head. Bailing out is for the lucky few at one end of the income scale, and the unlucky at the other. For most in the middle, renting is often just a place to lump it while your landlord makes off with the proceeds.

You can also see this imbalance in the kinds of dispute each party is likely to bring to the Tribunal, and the types of remedy available. The most common action by landlords is to seek to end a tenancy, and have the tenant vacate the property. An officer of the sheriff can enforce this kind of Tribunal order, and they may use reasonable force if necessary. On the other hand, tenants are more likely to bring an action to have repairs and maintenance carried out, and there’s no real way to have this enforced. Where a landlord refuses to comply with a repair order, it falls to the tenant to take them back to the Tribunal and give it another go.

On top of this, landlords have the support of an entire industry of real estate agents and property investment experts to help them negotiate whatever difficulties they might encounter. Tenants don’t have this. But they do have large amounts of bond money held in trust by the Rental Bond Board. This money generates interest, and our renting laws say that interest on tenants’ bond money may be used to fund ‘advisory services’ for tenants.

In New South Wales, the Tenants’ Advice and Advocacy Services have received funding from the interest on tenants’ bonds for more than twenty years. Fair Trading NSW provides a service to tenants, too, but they are unable to replicate the work of Tenants’ Advocates. They are part of the machine of government, and they quite rightly remain impartial. Their telephone information services are available to tenants, landlords and real estate agents alike, and their operators approach each conversation as though the other side is listening. And as a consumer protection agency they must focus on a great deal more than just tenants’ and landlords’ rights and responsibilities - they have about 40 different pieces of consumer law to get their heads around. They are simply unable to develop the high levels of expertise in residential tenancy law and practice that independent, specialist services can.

But the Tenants’ Advice and Advocacy Services are struggling to keep up with demand. They have not had a real increase in funding since 2002 – although the number of people renting in New South Wales has gone up by 25% since then. In such an environment services are necessarily restricted to the most needy. Tenants with a ‘low-level’ need for advice or support are finding it difficult to get through.

The working family paying $500 per week to rent within a half-hour commute of the office, who’s just had their home sold out from under them and is worried about getting their bond back, has a genuine need for good quality advice. Sure, they might not be faced with the immediate prospect of long-term homelessness, but if such tenants are not able to obtain independent, specialist advice when they need it, then our system is letting them down.

This brings us back to tenants’ bonds, and the interest they generate. As the number of people renting goes up, so does the number of dollars held by the Rental Bond Board. And so too the amount of interest they earn. Currently, the NSW Rental Bond Board holds in excess of $1billion of tenants’ money, generating about $60million in interest each year.

For every single dollar of interest that tenants’ bond money earns, 68 cents goes to NSW State Government to fund services such as the Tribunal and the Rental Bond Board. 10 cents is added to that $60million surplus. 8 cents is put towards the funding of Tenants’ Advice and Advocacy Services. Less than one cent is paid out to tenants directly when they recover their bonds. The rest is divided between other community services such as financial counselling and a No Interest Loans Scheme.

Visit www.yourbond.org to see where your interest goes

This can’t go on. Tenants’ money should be used for the benefit of tenants.

The NSW Tenants’ Advice & Advocacy Services and the Tenants’ Union of NSW are currently campaigning for more of the interest on tenants’ bonds to be returned to tenants, and to better fund the Tenants’ Advice and Advocacy Services. Visit www.yourbond.org to find out how you can support the campaign.

Where does the interest on my bond go?

For the answer to that question, see the TU's 'More Bang for Your Bond' page.

Put into the calculator the amount of your bond, and the time you've been in your tenancy, and see how much interest it has generated – and how little of it goes to your Tenants Advice and Advocacy Services, and you individually.

Sign up to the campaign, share it around and tell your MP and anyone else who'll listen that you want More Bang for Your Bond!

Anti-Poverty Week 2014

It's Anti-Poverty Week, when everyone is encouraged to get a discussion going about poverty: its causes and consequences, and what we can do to do end it.

The TU will be hosting a discussion with the Federation of Community Housing Associations and other housing sector workers about social housing rent policies – including how aspects of current policies discourage work and trap social housing tenants in poverty. 

As for what you might do: what about a letter to the paper or your MP? About how speculation has changed the shape of the rental market and led to the loss of low-cost housing? Or how cutting young people's social security entitlements could damage their housing prospects, and hence their employment prospects? Or how governments don't really 'deliver' surpluses – they take surpluses, and this is incompatible with sustainable economic growth and full employment? 

There's no shortage of things to talk about....

Tools for Success (and eviction)

Women living in social housing can apply for a $5 000 scholarship to help them train for a trade, under the Tools for Success program announced this week by the NSW Department of Family and Community Services.

This is a great opportunity for social housing tenants, and a great initiative by NSW FACS.

Not so great is the fact that if a public housing tenant actually takes up the opportunity and gets a job paying more than a certain amount, Housing NSW will terminate her tenancy at the end of its fixed term.  

And even if she's not near the threshold, she might think twice about doing any overtime, because Housing NSW will take up to 55 cents in each additional dollar she earns, because of its higher rent rates for 'moderate income' earners.

The State Government is to be commended for initiatives like Tools for Success, but it hobbles these initiatives, and the efforts and aspirations of public housing tenants themselves, with policies – reviews as to continuing eligibility, and moderate income rent rates – that discourage work.

To make a success of Tools for Success, Housing NSW should abolish those policies and make it so that public housing tenants have nothing to lose from training and working.

Support Ending HIV. Support the HIV/AIDS Legal Centre

The TU supports the Ending HIV campaign resourced by ACON.

Please visit the campaign site and join in the social media promotion of the cause.

We also support our colleagues at the HIV/AIDS Legal Centre, which is currently fundraising.

As HALC supporter Michael Kirby observes,

One of the least appreciated downsides of HIV/AIDS is that it can cause serious legal problems for the people involved. This is why, from the start, I have supported HALC. I still do. It helps some of the most vulnerable members of the community.

Please consider helping out at HALC's crowdfunding page.

LIAC cut

The Legal Information Access Centre (LIAC) is a specialist information service of the State Library of NSW. Since 1990 LIAC has done a great job by making specialist legal research services, and plain English legal information and educational resources – including the TU's Tenants' Rights Manual – available to the general public.

But now LIAC's funding (from the Public Purpose Fund) has been cut.

We understand that LIAC will continue to operate, but there will be no longer a specialist information service point staffed by legal librarians, nor specialist support for HSC Legal Studies students.

We hope full funding is restored to this valuable service. Please consider telling your local State MP how much you value LIAC.