NSW DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING, NSW PUBLIC HOUSING DATA COLLECTION

INTRODUCTION

1 The NSW Public Housing Data Collection is administered by the NSW Department of Housing. The collection is based on information recorded in the Integrated Housing System (IHS), which is the central business system for managing public housing tenancies and properties. It is collected as part of the ongoing administration of public housing properties and tenancies.

2 There is no legislative requirement to collect this data.

3 Data are collected on aspects of public housing stock (properties), tenants (tenancy holders) and applicants eligible for public housing.

4 In this product, data are presented for public housing properties and tenants by household size.

SCOPE

5 The scope of the collection is public housing in NSW. The scope of the data included in this product includes only tenantable properties. Tenantable properties are either occupied by tenants or vacant properties for allocation to applicants. Properties which are for sale or redevelopment are not considered tenantable.

6 Properties belonging to the Aboriginal Housing Office and properties managed by community housing providers are excluded from scope. Vacant land and commercial properties are also not included.

7 To be eligible for public housing in NSW, a person must satisfy the following conditions:

• be a citizen or have permanent residency in Australia;
• live in NSW;
• have a household income within the Department's income eligibility limits;
• comply with the Department's policy on asset ownership;
• be able to sustain a successful tenancy;
• if a former tenant, make repayments of any former debts to the Department; and
• generally, be 18 years or over.

REFERENCE PERIOD

8 The collection provides a snapshot of public housing properties (stock) and tenancies as at 30 June each year. This product presents data for 2006.

KEY DATA ITEMS

9 The collection uses the National Housing Assistance Data Dictionary (NHADD) Version 3 where possible, which can be found on the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare web site (see paragraph 18). The following definitions are from the NSW Department of Housing and the NHADD Version 3.

10 Properties: Refers to properties owned by the NSW Housing and Land Corporation or head-leased by the Department. Data presented on public housing properties in this product are for occupied or vacant tenantable public housing properties only (see paragraphs 5 and 6 for details).

11 Rental subsidy: The difference between the market rent of the properties and the rent charged to the tenant based on income (NHADD Version 3).

12 Tenant: Refers to households holding a tenancy agreement with the NSW Department of Housing (see paragraph 7 for tenant eligibility).

GEOGRAPHY

13 The data are coded based on the Local Government Area of the public housing properties and tenancies. The 2006 edition of the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) (cat. No. 1216.0) was used in the coding.

COLLECTION METHODOLOGY

14 Information about public housing is recorded and updated by Client Service Officers in the Department's Integrated Housing System (IHS). Aggregated data on public housing properties and tenancies is extracted from the IHS for the purpose of analysis.

ACCURACY

15 As data in this collection are obtained from an administrative system, they are not subject to sampling variability. However, other inaccuracies collectively referred to as non-sampling error may affect the data. These non-sampling errors may arise from a number of sources, including:

• errors in capturing or processing data;
• estimation for missing or misreported data; and
• definition and classification errors.

PUBLISHED DATA

16 Summary data are published by the Department of Housing in its Annual Report and by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) in the Annual Commonwealth State Housing Agreement (CSHA) National Data Reports. The scope of data in the CSHA reports is slightly different than that presented in this product.

RELATED WEB SITES

17 Further information can be found at the NSW Department of Housing web site: www.housing.nsw.gov.au.

18 Information about the National Housing Assistance Data Dictionary and the CSHA National Data Reports can be found on the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare web site: www.aihw.gov.au.