Who is my housing provider?

by Nassim Arrage

It can sometimes be very confusing what additional rights you may have as a tenant in Aboriginal housing.

You may have more responsibilities (such as providing your landlord with details of your household income) and you may also have more rights (such as the ability to ask for a transfer or get modifications made to your home).

You will always have most of the same rights and responsibilities of other tenants. For example, all tenants have to pay rent and all tenants can expect that their landlord will do repairs. This is because the Residential Tenancies Act 1987 governs all tenancy agreements in New South Wales. However, some of your rights and responsibilities can differ depending on who your landlord is.

Aboriginal tenants can have many different kinds of landlords. Apart from private rental, some of the main ones are discussed here.

Aboriginal Housing Office (AHO)

The AHO is a government body set up to provide housing for Aboriginal people both directly (as a landlord) and indirectly (through funding other Aboriginal housing providers). Note that most AHO properties are managed by and subject to the same or similar policies as Housing NSW properties.

Housing NSW

Housing NSW (formerly the Department of Housing or the Housing Commission) is a government body set up to house low-income tenants in New South Wales. Housing NSW also houses Aboriginal tenants. Housing NSW has many policies that give tenants both more rights and more responsibilities than other tenants.

Community housing

Community housing providers are non-government organisations that are funded by government to house tenants in particular geographical areas or to house a particular group of tenants. (For example, Women’s Housing only houses single women.) Some community housing providers only house Aboriginal tenants. Each community housing provider is different (although there are some similarities) and each has its own set of policies.

Land councils

There is a land council for most geographical areas in New South Wales. Some of them cover large areas and some of them are quite small. Many former missions became land councils as part of the land rights movement.
Local Aboriginal communities manage their local land council through a democratically elected board. Many land councils provide housing to their members.  The NSW Aboriginal Land Council oversees the management of local land councils.

Corporations

Aboriginal people can form companies under mainstream corporations law or they can form an Aboriginal corporation under special laws not available to non-Aboriginal people.

Mainstream companies must be registered with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC).

Aboriginal Corporations must be registered with the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations (ORIC).

Both kinds of corporations may provide housing to Aboriginal people.

Co-operatives and incorporated associations

Co-operatives and incorporated associations are community organisations that may or may not receive government assistance. Your landlord might be one of these.

If the landlord is a co-operative, you must usually be a member of the co-operative to be provided with housing.

If the landlord is an incorporated association you must usually fall within a particular target group to be provided with housing.

Find out more online

• AHO: www.aho.nsw.gov.au
  
• Housing NSW: www.housing.nsw.gov.au
  
• Community housing: www.communityhousing.org.au
  
• Aboriginal land councils: www.alc.org.au
  
• Mainstream corporations: www.asic.gov.au
  
• Aboriginal corporations: www.oratsic.gov.au
  
• Co-operatives and associations: www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/co-operatives_and_associations.html

Contact your local Aboriginal Tenants Advice and Advocacy Service if you have any questions.