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See Section 2 for information on community housing surveys |
Improvements have been made in housing design and quality in Aboriginal communities throughout the NT during the last two decades. For the majority of the Territory's Aboriginal citizens however, the chronic shortage of housing and its associated infrastructure, still contribute to poor health and lack of social well-being. Many three bedroom dwellings are occupied by more than 20 people (Northern Territory Aboriginal Housing and Infrastructure Program 1995:2-3).
"Nationally, the proportions of families who are either homeless or in housing stress are 8 and 13 percent respectively. The most noticeable feature is the extent to which families living in the Northern Territory suffer a significantly higher degree of housing disadvantage than elsewhere. More than one in four (29 percent) of the Northern Territory's indigenous families are homeless, either living in improvised dwellings or sharing overcrowded multi-family housing, and a further 22 percent are primary families in housing stress, their dwellings having fewer bedrooms than they need (Jones 1994:38-39)".
| Housing Needs The 1992 Aboriginal Housing and Infrastructure Needs Survey undertaken by ATSIC identified a cost of $378 million to meet the current housing backlog. This estimate does not include the cost of servicing the building sites. The Northern Territory Government's Aboriginal Housing Strategy (1992) estimated that the cost to meet housing demand by the year 2001 is in the order of $465 million including the cost of land servicing. Both assessments agree that the backlog in housing was in the order of 3100 dwellings in 1992 … On current estimates, there is a capital requirement of $750 million needed to overcome the NT's rural backlog in housing and associated power, water, sewerage and road services … …it is unlikely that even the level of funding available through NAHS/HIPP will significantly reduce the level of indigenous housing need in the Northern Territory over the short to medium term. This conclusion is further reinforced by comparing different levels of funding against existing and projected levels of housing need … redressing Indigenous housing need will not be achieved within a reasonable timeframe. Indigenous Housing Authority of the Northern Territory 1997:8-9 |
Between June and November 1997 five remote communities across the NT were surveyed. This survey was part of a pilot Environmental Health Project involving THS, PAWA, the (then) Department of Housing and Local Government and the Office of Aboriginal Development. The aim of the project was to test an Environmental Health Infrastructure Maintenance System. The project was part of the work being done to develop a set of environmental health standards for remote communities in the NT.
Each of the communities was surveyed up to three times. This was done in order to identify the level of environmental health need, and help the team to measure any changes that might have taken place during the pilot project.
Results of houses surveyed:
The information collected during the pilot period clearly showed a high level of environmental health need, and a significant level of poor performance of health hardware.
Note: care should be used when interpreting the results of the survey. The survey forms and questions were developed without a lot of consultation or pre-testing. The results are included here because they give some indication of the extent of the problems that existed at the time of the survey.
In the past standards of construction varied. The legacy of poor standards is still with us. Today, although the Building Code of Australia does not apply to many remote areas, building standards must comply with the 'Environmental Health Standards for Remote Communities in the NT'. Compliance with these standards is also part of the contractual obligation for projects funded through the Indigenous Housing Authority of the NT (IHANT) and the National Aboriginal Health Strategy - Environmental Health Project (NAHS-EHP). As a result, contractors, consultants and project managers have to be more accountable. New houses have to:
Aboriginal people who live in remote areas still have less protection against sub-standard construction due to:
High levels of damage and wear mean that there is an ongoing and high need for housing repairs and maintenance work. Basic systems often break down. Once this happens, houses no longer support good health and become health hazards. The neglect of house maintenance now appears to be amongst the most pressing problems in Aboriginal housing.
| Housing repair bill ATSIC has … estimated that the current community based housing stock comprises approximately 4000 dwellings with a repair bill of a further $82 million. Indigenous Housing Authority of the Northern Territory 1997:8 |
High maintenance needs in Aboriginal housing are most often caused by the combined effects of:
| Failure to keep up with maintenance costs more in the long run, as houses later need
complete replacement or major renovations, and people reject houses in which essential
parts are not working. Morel and Ross 1993:14 |
Maintenance is often a problem in many communities due to :
A system for regular house maintenance needs to be part of an overall community housing management package.
| The need to look at ongoing funding for repairs and maintenance Generally, across Australia in indigenous housing bodies, a cultural change is necessary. They've come from an assets based management and property management point of view, rather than from the place which looks at people's ability to practice some activity that is going to empower them to take control over their own health. Sometimes having a house that is going to perform better and is less likely to fail means that you have to spend more money in the first place. The question is: is the game to provide 'houses' or 'housing' … If you consider 'housing', this brings with it the need to look at recurrent funding for ongoing repairs and maintenance, housing stock management requirements, all that sort of business. Stephan Rainow, Nganampa Health Council, Alice Springs |
In 1992 the NT Government identified 'community management' as a key issue which is holding back the effectiveness of housing programs. Poor community housing management generally leads to houses 'breaking down' much more quickly.
The Department of Housing funds an accredited training program called 'Community Housing Management'. The course has great potential to improve the participation of Aboriginal people in management of their housing. IHANT has also introduced a program to assist community housing management and to undertake routine and emergency maintenance identified by occupants through community housing surveys.
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See Section 2 for information on community housing surveys |
The poor condition of housing is one of the first things that people notice when they arrive in an Aboriginal community. They also notice other differences, for example houses and yards may be used in a different way and many Aboriginal people prefer to cook and sleep outside. The number of people using a house changes all the time. Sometimes no-one will be living in a house, at other times the house will be over-crowded. Most, if not all houses, are the property of the community, not of individuals and occupants pay rent in return for accommodation.
| Preconceptions and assumptions It is necessary for us to realise that something like a kitchen offers a lot of preconceptions about cooking and lifestyle already; and the same with the bedroom and the bathroom. It would be good to try to break down these preconceptions and look at how people really use the space in and around the house. This is good in theory, but in practice - say when we are consulting a client about their needs, we'll ask "where do you want to cook?" and they'll say, "in the kitchen" maybe without realising that they prefer to cook outside more often. Everyone has preconceptions and assumptions; we do as service providers and our clients do too. Sue Dugdale, Architect, Tangentyere Design, Alice Springs |
In the NT approximately two-thirds of Indigenous dwellings are rented. Rented dwellings in rural areas are mainly rented from community or cooperative housing organisations. Across the NT only 5.7 percent of Indigenous dwellings are fully owned, compared to 18.7 percent of other dwellings. Also, only 8.3 percent of Indigenous dwellings are being purchased, compared to 30.1 percent of other dwellings (Australian Bureau of Statistics 1998:19).
The concept of who owns the housing in communities is often misunderstood. Houses are held for Aboriginal people by a legal entity such as an Incorporated Association or a Land Trust. Houses are not legally owned by individuals. There may be a Community Council but the Community Council will not normally own the land. The Council may make all the practical day to day decisions but if they do not own the land then they do not own the houses. The houses belong to whoever owns the land.
If Aboriginal houses and yards are to be comfortable, safe places to live then social, cultural, technological, and climatic needs have to be taken into account. These include:
| Siting … a cooperative exercise People who live in a place know a lot more about the climate throughout the year and also during the day. Siting houses and other buildings successfully for climate has got to be a cooperative exercise. People themselves are dealing with complex issues of relationships and culture that come into housing and siting and so on. I've often just felt that it's too hard for me to understand those issues comprehensively enough for me to make decisions about siting and relationships and that the only way really is for someone just to tell me. But then, there's always the issue too of who is telling me and whether its the right person to be telling you. It's very hard to know. With siting too there's siting in regard to relationships but there's also siting in relation to climate which I can offer some advice on. Sue Dugdale, Architect, Tangentyere Design, Alice Springs |
From Our Place 96 vol 1 (2), p9
One of the most neglected aspects of environmental health is the area of settlement planning, that is, how communities are 'set out'. "Environmental health programs have justifiably focussed on direct human contact with disease, such as transmission routes relating to housing, water supply, and sanitation. They have largely neglected the social, cultural and environmental health dimensions to Aboriginal settlement" (Moran 1999:2)
| I've seen new roads put in for existing housing and the new road's
bitumen comes up to within 2 metres of people's verandahs. There are many stories like
that. Very little town planning. Andy Kenyon, Coordinator of the
Landcare & |
Today, there are two main models for remote Aboriginal communities:
Aboriginal Community townships have usually been developed along the lines of any small rural Australian town, ie rows of three bedroom houses, built on quarter acre blocks, on straight streets, radiating out from centralised community facilities. This traditional solution is based on:
Before colonisation settlements were transitory and moved constantly. Movement was motivated by such things as the season, water supplies, food supplies and ceremonies.
| Traditional settlements provided an informality of space and
fluidity of architectural boundaries which people used to mediate social interactions.
People were also free to improve their living conditions with respect to shade, breeze,
warmth of sun, fire location, sanitation, storage and general comfort. The informal and
fluid arrangement gave people many options to control their life. This is far removed from the fixed and controlled environments of sub-division allotments in community townships. Moran 1999:6 |
The outstation or homeland movement is now well established in the NT. People usually move to outstations to return to and care for their traditional land. They also may want to remove themselves from the pressure of township life and become more independent.
Outstations are generally supported by a resource centre that is located in the nearest major community. Some outstations now have permanent or semi-permanent housing. Some are designed and built by the people themselves.
Outstations are characterised by:
Moran 1999:3 |
Many outstations are abandoned or remain unlived in for much of the year for cultural or other reasons (such as sorry business). Outstation life can improve the quality of life in some ways, but in other ways outstation life is difficult because:
The main source of funding for Indigenous housing in the NT is through the IHANT. The Authority can be contacted through regional ATSIC offices and through the Department of Housing.
For details of the type of projects they will fund, refer to CHIP guidelines. These Guidelines are available from ATSIC Regional offices. Funding approval is at the discretion of the Regional Council.
The Department of Housing is responsible for managing housing construction programs funded by government grants, administering of construction projects, engaging of consultants, monitoring of contractor performance and monitoring of overall housing standards.