Social Housing Eligibility and Allocations Policy Supplement

1. Urgent need for short-term emergency accommodation

An urgent need for emergency temporary accommodation may exist where a client:

• cannot live in their home due to a domestic or family violence situation, which places them, or a child, at risk of significant harm
• has removed a child at risk of abuse from the family home
• has custody of children and is homeless.

For situations relating to a natural disaster, please see Eligibility for emergency temporary accommodation because of a natural disaster section in this policy

When assessing the client’s application, the provider will consider the following factors:

• whether the client’s urgent housing need can be met by providing Rentstart or Temporary Accommodation
• whether the client has the ability to resolve their housing need themselves
• whether the client can live with family or friends.

Temporary residents are not eligible for emergency temporary accommodation.

2. Assessing a client’s ability to resolve their urgent short-term emergency housing need other than through a natural disaster

The provider will assess a client’s ability to resolve their urgent short-term emergency housing need by looking at the following:

• any assets or savings the client could use
• the client’s housing requirements, such as the number of bedrooms their size household requires or need for disability modifications
• the appropriateness of alternative housing options such as Rentstart or Temporary Accommodation (if eligible)
• the inability of a client to obtain private rental accommodation due to factors such as discrimination.

Clients must provide documentation to support their application for emergency temporary accommodation, for more information see item 26 on the Evidence Requirements Information Sheet.