The first 750 New South Wales social homes to receive critical maintenance upgrades under the $1 billion Repair and Restore Maintenance blitz have been announced.
This marks the first tranche of works from the program, which is expected to deliver maintenance to 30,000 public homes in need of repair.
The NSW Government has also 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.
Repair and Restore Maintenance blitz
From 14 July, Homes NSW has begun scoping the first 750 homes located within 55 Local Government Areas (LGAs) 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
- BGIS
- Programmed Facility Maintenance
- Downer Spotless Facility Services
- SR Construction
- Ventia
Four of the six companies are new providers to the maintenance service delivery.
The New South Wales Government said that this is a fresh approach to the organisations it partners with for its maintenance work delivery.
The contracts went live from 1 July 2024.
The Maintenance Hub
From 1 July, 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.
The New South Wales Government has said that the 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.
The State Government said that its new maintenance approach will support small businesses, local tradies and local jobs, especially in regions, as well as new jobs created for disability and community service providers, Aboriginal trades and businesses, and social housing tenants.
New South Wales Minister for Housing and Homelessness, Rose Jackson, said that the government is wasting no time since announcing the critical maintenance funding in the Budget.
“We are getting on with the job by identifying regions where our existing homes need restoring 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,” Minister Jackson said.
“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 maintenance, we can ensure basic requests like leaking taps aren’t left for months on end without resolution.
“This is about putting the New South Wales 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.”
Image: M2020/shutterstock.com
