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Our Labor Government led by new Premier Steven Miles has delivered historic cost of living relief for all Queenslanders. By making multinational mining companies pay their fair share we have delivered $1,300 off every Queenslander’s power bill, 50 cent public transport fares, cutting rego by 20%, free Kindy, free TAFE, we banned rent bidding, cut stamp duty for first home buyers and delivered $200 FairPlay vouchers for all Queensland families to help with the cost of kids’ sport.

We also have an ambitious plan for Queensland’s future – more health workers and more hospitals, more schools, roads, public transport, projects to keep Queenslanders in jobs and a universal free school lunch program at State primary schools. We’re building more homes for Queenslanders, delivering our nation-leading Energy and Jobs Plan to power our homes and economy with cheap firmed renewable energy and we’re acting on community safety with more police and crime prevention.

The Miles Labor Government has delivered a 20 per cent uplift to all Specialist Homelessness Services, including Youth Specialist Homelessness Services and has committed to making this uplift permanent. Through Homes for Queenslanders Plan we have delivered more housing pathways for young people experiencing homelessness. We are also providing extra night workers in identified temporary supported accommodation sites and investing in new mobile services to help young people wherever they are.

The Miles Labor Government knows that Queenslanders have diverse housing needs and that a variety of housing responses are required to ensure everyone has a safe, secure and affordable place to call home. We are delivering across the housing continuum across every region in the state, recognising the importance of a tailored and place-based approach. As part of our $3.1 billion Homes for Queenslanders Plan, we will deliver 53,500 new social homes across the state – including targeted, specialist support services. We are delivering more youth specific housing and support through:

  • Eight new youth foyers
  • Nine temporary accommodation sites for families
  • 20 temporary supported accommodation sites for individuals
  • Eight temporary supported accommodation sites for young people

On top of the biggest investment in social homes, our Plan also includes 10 Domestic and Family Violence (DFV) shelters to provide a safe place to stay for women and children, as well as short-term accommodation for anyone who needs it while we work with them on longer term housing. That expands on rental reforms to better protect women and children experiencing DFV, as well as financial support to help those fleeing DFV purchase essential items like whitegoods to help them secure a new home.

While we build, we are delivering support to community housing providers to help them give more young people a safe place to call home. The Youth Subsidy helps remove the barriers young people face when looking for housing, like lower incomes and government payments, and balancing study and training with paid work commitments. The Youth Subsidy will support providers to help more young people across Queensland to move out of crisis accommodation into long-term, stable housing.

Through our youth housing plan, Towards ending homelessness for young Queenslanders 2022-2027, we are equipping the government and community sector workforce to develop the skills, practice and tools to deliver person-centred, coordinated, outcomes-focussed housing with support to young people. We are also working with young people and Specialist Homelessness Services to better respond to the diverse and complex needs of young people, and to be trauma informed, accessible and culturally responsive.

If re-elected, the Miles Labor Government looks forward to continuing to fund and work alongside the Queensland Youth Housing Coalition to keep delivering what matters for young Queenslanders.

Labor Government Priorities

Towards Ending Homelessness for Young Queenslanders 2022-2027

In September 2022 the Queensland Government released ‘Towards Ending Homelessness for Young Queenslanders 2022-2027.’ This policy and framework came with a $29.8 million investment over four years from 2022-23, along with $10 million ongoing funding each year from 2026-27. Under the policy, there are 25 commitments to strengthen housing and homelessness responses for young people across the human services sector. In particular, there is a focus on more effective integration with critical services including education, health, employment, child safety and youth and adult justice. It also aims to deliver initiatives to ensure young Queenslanders have the information, opportunities and support to access safe, secure and affordable housing when they need it. This includes:

  • 1 million to tailor and improve information on homelessness and housing assistance for young people to promote earlier access to services.
  • $2.8 million to deliver an innovative program of housing with onsite support in Brisbane, to assist families before they come into contact with the child safety or youth justice system, sup-ported by construction of 38 new housing units under the Queensland Housing Investment Growth Initiative.
  • $9.6 million to work with young people and immediate supported accommodation services to respond to the diverse and complex needs of young people.
  • $3.4 million for flexible financial housing assistance to support young people to obtain and sustain housing when transitioning from temporary supported accommodation, care, corrections, youth justice and Youth Foyers.
  • $7 million for additional specialist homelessness services that provide coordinated support to young people, with services funded specifically to support young First Nations peoples.
  • $1.6 million to support young pregnant or parenting women to settle into and maintain secure housing.
  • $3.3 million for new specialist housing workers who will help young people obtain and sustain housing.

Youth Housing Essentials

Youth Housing Essentials is a $4.6million funding package under Towards Ending Homelessness for Young Queenslanders 2022-2027. It assists eligible young people to access up to $5,000 for essential items during their transition from living in care, the youth justice system, temporary supported accommodation and youth foyers to living independently. The aim of this financial assistance is to enhance the capacity of young people to access housing. This financial support can be utilised to cover the cost of essential goods and services including:

  • furniture, fridge, washing machine and other essential home items
  • education or work necessities, such as school stationery and work clothing
  • transport and moving costs, such as vehicle registration, Go Cards, removalists and identification
  • mobile phone and prepaid phone credit.

 To access this funding, young people need to be engaged with a service provider, government agency or Housing Service Centre.

Immediate Supported Accommodation Expansion

The department has funded five existing Immediate Supported Accommodation (ISA) services delivering 24/7 on-site support for young people to expand their programs to meet the unique needs of their regions. This allows organisations to ensure that there are two workers on-site during identified peak periods of service delivery as well as provide 24/7 intake. It also increases the capacity of organisations to accommodate young people with varying support needs. The ISA providers that have received this funding are in the priority regions of Cairns, Logan, Mount Isa, Moreton Bay and Rockhampton. The ISA Program Expansion funding meets commitment HP5 and HS6 of Towards Ending Homelessness for Young Queenslanders 2022-2027. These commitments are:

  • Work with young people and Specialist Homelessness Services (SHS) that deliver Immediate Supported Accommodation to better respond to the diverse and complex needs of young people, be trauma-informed, accessible, and culturally responsive.
  • Invest in additional SHS to support more young people over four years in their home, temporary living situations, community settings or public spaces, with services funded specifically to support young First Nations peoples.

The ISA Program Expansion provides resources and opportunities for the sector to address the more challenging presentations of young people around the clock.

Homes for Queenslanders 2024

 2024 has seen the Queensland Government announce an historic investment into Queensland’s housing system. The ‘Homes for Queenslanders’ initiative is a comprehensive housing strategy with various measures that aim to support housing affordability, rental market, home ownership, social housing, homelessness and legislation and reform. It includes significant benefit to specialist housing services and the support being provided to young people.

Homes for Queenslanders includes a substantial $526 million investment aimed at addressing housing and homelessness issues. This initiative allocates $72 million for a 20 percent increase in funding for specialist homelessness services for the remainder of 2023-24 and 2024-25, benefiting 90 non-government organisations. This has been extended to be ongoing.

 Additionally, $205 million will be dedicated to continuing and expanding the Immediate Housing Response for Families initiative to couples and individuals, including young people. To make it financially possible for community housing providers to house more young people, the Youth Subsidy has been introduced through the plan. The initiative also includes $52 million for Critical Response Teams in partnership with Specialist Homelessness Services to provide outreach services. These new mobile services will help young people both in their homes and public places to find and sustain housing. Eight new supported accommodation services for young people experiencing homelessness will also be funded through the plan.

Furthermore, the plan involves the establishment of eight new youth foyers across Queensland. The first additional youth foyer will be delivered in Cairns, followed by two more in Moreton Bay and Hervey Bay with further work to be done to identify five more sites across the state. Cairns Specialist Youth Homelessness Services, along with their Housing and Homelessness network peers, have been tirelessly advocating for additional accommodation for young people in Cairns, including a Foyer. The announcement that Cairns will be home to the next Queensland Foyer is a cause for great celebration. The proposed youth foyer in Manoora will include approximately 40 self-contained units for young people aged 16 to 25 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Residents will pay 25% of their income towards rent and must commit to study, training, or employment during their stay. Cairns was chosen for this initiative due to the high demand for independent and supportive housing for young people in the area.

 Homes for Queenslanders has also purchased a four-storey commercial office building in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. This will be transformed into a dedicated one-stop shop offering coordinated support for young people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Managed by Brisbane Youth Service, the centre will provide access to mental health, alcohol and drug, and domestic and family violence support. The spacious facility will also accommodate other not-for-profit agencies to deliver on-site services for young people. It is expected that the new centre will be operational by early 2025.

 The Homes for Queenslanders Plan includes several general housing supports that benefit young people:

  • $160 million Renters Relief Package: This package aims to provide immediate financial assistance to renters, helping young people manage rental costs and avoid housing stress.
  • Portable Bond Scheme: This scheme allows renters to transfer their rental bond from one property to another, reducing the financial burden and administrative hassle when moving, which is particularly beneficial for young people who may frequently change residences.
  • 53,500 New Social Homes by 2046: The construction of new social homes will increase the availability of affordable housing, providing young people with more options for stable and secure accommodation.
  • More Temporary Supported Accommodation in the Regions: Expanding temporary supported accommodation ensures that young people in regional areas have access to necessary housing and support services during transitional periods.

These measures collectively aim to enhance housing security and affordability for young people in Queensland.

Other Investments

The Queensland Government allocated over $52.48 million in funding for the Homelessness Program in 2023-24, benefiting 39 non-government organisations across Queensland. This funding increase of 70% from previous years targets Specialist Homelessness Services, specifically for young people at risk of homelessness. It is noted that the 20% uplift funding is in addition as this funding was announced post 1 January 2024. Additionally, the government has established five-year service agreements to ensure ongoing support for SHS providers. Furthermore, a $5.7 million investment over two years has been earmarked for a family reunification pilot service under the Community Safety Plan, focusing on children aged 12-15 years.

The Putting Queensland Kids First strategy encompasses a significant $501.9 million investment aimed at various initiatives. This includes allocating $5.8 million towards enhancing safe, stable, and secure housing for First Nations families, $11.64 million to support tenancies for young parents with comprehensive wraparound support, including parenting education, and $3.59 million for housing and support link services specifically tailored for young mothers, babies, and families.

Key Innovation in Education

Putting Queensland Kids First

  • $196.8m over 4 years from 2024 to provide a range of early intervention services in the early years:
  • $29.86m to establish 36 Early Childhood Coordinators in communities where children experience vulnerability and disadvantage.
  • $20m for family and early years school-based hubs in Aurukun and Kowanyama.
  • $26.23m to extend free kindy hours for 4-year-olds in discrete communities.
  • $10.73m for health practitioners in 20 primary schools.
  • $67.33m for 85 Behaviour Specialists in 299 primary schools; and
  • $42.66m for 84 Family Support Coordinators across 219 primary schools.

Youth Engagement Strategy

  • $288m to support at risk students to stay at school or access alternative learning
  • $45m – 50 new flexispaces
  • $120m expand Qld Pathways College
  • $29.1m expand First Nations programs
  • 78\Intensive Education Case Managers ($57m)
  • 4 more Court Liaison Officers in high-priority Childrens Court locations
  • 16 more Youth Transition Officers

Wellbeing Package

  • $106.7m over 3 years
  • As of 30 June 2024, 615 wellbeing professionals employed, including:
  • 187 psychologists.
  • 169 guidance staff.
  • 240 social workers; and
  • 19 youth workers.

From 1 July 2024, every Queensland state school student has access to a wellbeing professional at school, at no cost.

GPs in Schools Pilot in 50 state secondary schools -an additional $21m from 2024–25 to continue the program for a further 4 years.

Turn to Teaching

  • $19.8m- 300 aspiring teachers
  • 32 graduates now teaching in our schools
  • 80 interns in 2024

Trade to Teach

  • $20m- 60 trade qualified career changers
  • Meet the demand of Industrial Technologies and Design subjects
  • 36 interns in 2024

Big Build

  • Opened 27 new schools since 2015- including 2 in 2024, two more in 2025
  • 78 halls opened since 2015- 24 more planned for delivery by end of 2024
  • $3b to deliver new schools in fast growing communities
  • In 2022, under our $477M Cooler Cleaner Schools Program, we completed installation of air conditioners in every classroom, staff room and library in Queensland State Schools.
  • In 2023-24, we are investing $102M in our Air Conditioning Repair and Replacement Program

Key Innovation in Youth Justice

There has been significant reform to the Youth Justice system since 2019 including:

  • stronger laws to keep community safe has resulted in more young people in detention
  • continued decrease of young people with a proven offence
  • establishment of and improvements to Multi Agency Collaborative Panels
  • establishment and expansion of Early Action Groups
  • establishment of a Youth Justice Peak Body – our congratulations to QATSICPP!
  • implementation of the Youth Justice Outcomes Framework
  • Youth Response and Diversion including the Mt Isa Hub
  • 24/7 Youth Co-Responder Teams (over 140 DYJ staff with matching police resources) in 15 locations with over 98,600 contacts with young people
  • extension of after-hours services, drug and alcohol treatment services
  • implementation of On Country programs and expanded to Intensive On Country
  • Increased crime prevention grants – Community Based Crime Action grants and Targeted Responses for Youth Crime grants ($7.5m in 2023-2024)
  • expanded restorative justice conferencing
  • 82 staff to provide Intensive Case Management through 16 locations across the state, working with over 300 young people with an evaluation demonstrating reduced offending by 50%, with a 72% reduction in offences against the person
  • trialled and expanded electronic monitoring
  • extended bail support initiatives
  • outsourced service delivery with 41% delivered by community-controlled organisations
  • a new therapeutic detention centre with additional centres to be built
  • implementation of evidence-based approaches
  • significant safety and accountability improvements (e.g., body worn cameras) and improved training within detention centres along with extended education, training, rehabilitation and health services.
  • continued refinement of Transition to Success
  • continued evaluation of programs
  • published additional data.