People with Disability Australia Incorporated

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Issues & Campaigns

Boarding House Individual Advocacy Project

PWD has Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations

Boarding House Reforms

People with disability living in licensed and unlicensed boarding houses face numerous human rights violations, largely due to the out-dated legislative, policy and practice frameworks which govern these forms of accommodation.

The Youth and Community Services Act 1973 (YACS Act) which provides for the regulation of licensed boarding houses accommodating two or more people with disability has been under review by the NSW Government for approximately ten years. PWD recommends the urgent finalisation of this review.

NSW Ombudsman’s special report August 2011 - More than board and lodging: the need for boarding house reform
The NSW Ombudsman’s special report to Parliament, More than board and lodging: the need for boarding house reform, released on August 17, draws on work by the Ombudsman since 2002, which has identified serious concerns about the safety, health, welfare and rights of the residents of licensed boarding houses and the adequacy of the system that is meant to protect them.
Click here to learn more about this report and PWD’s response.

Since 2008, the NSW Government through its Interdepartmental Committee on Reform of Shared Private Residential Services (IDC), has been exploring a new framework for accommodation standards in boarding houses. Currently there is no legislation in NSW which provides tenancy protections to anyone living in licensed or unlicensed boarding houses.

Some of PWD's recent activities include:

September 2011: As an organisation funded to provide advocacy services to people with disability living in licensed boarding houses in NSW, People with Disability Australia (PWD) has been extremely active in advocacy on issues of allegations of violence, abuse and exploitation against residents of a licensed boarding house, known as Grand Western Lodge, located in Millthorpe NSW and for the rights of the residents to live lives free from abuse and exploitation. Click here for a background briefing paper, links to articles in the Sydney Morning Herald and ABC RampUp as well as more details on how you can help raise awareness of these issues.
August 2011: Click here to read NSW Ombudsman’s special report released - More than board and lodging: the need for boarding house reform
August 2011: 2UE David Oldfield interviews Matthew Bowden (PWD) and Andrew Constance MP, NSW Minister for Disability Services about Abuse and neglect in boarding houses across NSW on Wednesday 17 August 2011.
March 2011: Community organisations call on all political parties in NSW to better protect marginal renters – those who are not covered by residential tenancies law or cannot find a place in the mainstream rental market.
Joint statement - Reform for marginal renters (Word 41kb)
Reforming marginal renting - a policy paper by the Tenants' Union of NSW (Word 101kb)
February 2011: Research Summary Report on the Needs of Residents in Unlicensed Boarding Houses (PDF 652kb) A joint project conducted by the Baptist Community Services and the University of Wollongong funded by NSW Health, supported by MHCC.
December 2010: Boarding House Reform Discussion Paper (PDF 82kb) - NSW Interdepartmental Committee on Reform of Shared Private Residential Services (IDC).
September 2010: Youth and Community Services Regulation 2010 - Following ADHC’s public consultation on the proposed Youth and Community Services Regulation 2010, the Youth and Community Services Regulation 2010 was remade. It came into force on 1 September 2010. This Regulation contains obligations for boarding house owners that were previously contained in the amended Youth and Community Services Regulation 2005. The 2010 Regulation clarifies the legal obligations that proprietors need to meet in the day to day operations of licensed boarding houses.

PWD made an extensive submission to the Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) consultation. Overall, our submission welcomed and supported the making of regulations as we see such measures are necessary and essential to ensuring there is no ambiguity in compliance expectations for Licensees and Licensed Managers and for the protection of human rights of people with disability who are residents of licensed boarding houses. However, we also provided detailed feedback on the proposed regulation including recommendations as to how it could be further strengthened to address long standing issues with respect to standards in licensed boarding houses.

We were therefore disappointed with the final remake of the Youth and Community Services Regulation 2010 which in our view failed to take full advantage of the opportunity to address a number of key weaknesses in the proposed Regulation. We believe this Regulation should have furthered standards and best practice in the services provided by licensed boarding houses, improvements in prevention, detection and response to abuse and domestic violence which are highlighted in our Accommodating Violence Report (PDF 761kb) and introduced requirements for regular probity checks for all staff of licensed boarding houses.

ADHC’s analysis of the submissions received in relation to the RIS on the proposed Regulation is available here - Youth and Community Services (YACS) Regulation 2010: Report on responses to Regulatory Impact Statement (PDF 508kb) and ADHC's Summary of the YACS 2010 changes (PDF 38kb)
July 2010: PWD Submission Public consultation on the proposed Youth and Community Services Regulation 2010 (Word 527kb)
July 2010: Boarding House Reform in PWD's response to Stronger Together (Word 143kb)
May 2010: PWD Media Release Rights for Boarding House residents – Time to Act!
Feb 2010: Draft Residential Tenancies Bill 2009 - PWD EBulletin 59 February 2010