The Victorian Ombudsman has launched an investigation into how public and community housing complaints are handled by the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing and the Housing Registrar in a bid to improve processes and ensure fairness.
The Ombudsman, Deborah Glass, said the Housing Registrar was the regulator responsible for the oversight of the community housing sector and had powers to investigate complaints about registered Agencies from tenants and members of the public.
Ms Glass said her Office had received more than 1,000 housing complaints over the past year and the proposed investigation would examine if the current complaint handling processes were effective, fair and “sufficiently tenant focused”.
She said effective complaints handling was essential for accountability, transparency and confidence in the system.
“All too often we receive complaints about basic needs such as running water and electricity, and reasonably maintained, clean and safe premises,” Ms Glass said.
“Many tenants tell us they don’t know how to complain or feel they are not being listened to,” she said.
“Some come to our Office with concerns or misunderstandings about how their complaint was handled.”
Ms Glass said neither the number of complaints nor the common issues had lessened over the years.
The Ombudsman said her investigation was timely given Government’s focus on housing reform and funding of community housing.
“The investigation will meet with public and community housing tenants, and community services, as well as the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing and the Housing Registrar,” she said.
Ms Glass said her report would be made public during the first half of this year.
