Large families Another major barrier is the size of some of the families. A number of our African Australian families number over 8 people so even if applying for a four bedroom house it is unlikely they will be successful if they are competing against smaller families. This can be compounded by the sponsoring process where a family assists other family members or complete families to come to Australia. Sometimes more than one family is housed together. ILLUSTRATION To comply with the tenancy agreements some families are forced to rent two houses. A number of our families and extended families live in two or three houses in the community. They try to stay within a suburb, but in the current housing shortage this may not be possible. Suggestion The Government needs to build large family based houses for African Australians (and other larger newly arrived families), that take in consideration cultural requirements. The model can be like that used for Indigenous communities where the communities were consulted and the government has designed and built places that address the cultural needs identified. Discrimination ILLUSTRATION One of the African families I work with received legal notice to leave the house as required by the landlord. The official reason was the end of the lease period. The unofficial reasons (not stated in the legal notice) were that they had damaged the house and more people than those listed on the lease were living in the house. Regarding the first argument, the agent made reference to a new stove which was not working two weeks after the family started using it. A notification for repair was made to the Real Estate but nobody came to fix it. After the required date for leaving the house, as the family had found no other place to move, the Real Estate eventually sent somebody for repair and it was found that an electrical failure (manufacture defect) was preventing the stove from working and there was not link between the family use of the stove and the defect. Consequently the Real Estate softened its position and allowed the family to stay in the house (without starting a judicial process) until they eventually find a new place to live. On the second count, the family was receiving daily visits from friends or relatives which made the house quite crowded during the day, but these persons were not living in the house and were out by the evening. No evidence has ever been provided by the Real Estate to substantiate their allegations. Relates to Q 4.10 In the story above, the family benefited as one of the family members has good English, is well-educated about the tenant’s rights and knows how to seek legal support. Consequently he stood up to the Real
Large families Another major barrier is the size of some of the families. A number of our African Australian families number over 8 people so even if applying for a four bedroom house it is unlikely they will be successful if they are competing against smaller families. This can be compounded by the sponsoring process where a family assists other family members or complete families to come to Australia. Sometimes more than one family is housed together. ILLUSTRATION To comply with the tenancy agreements some families are forced to rent two houses. A number of our families and extended families live in two or three houses in the community. They try to stay within a suburb, but in the current housing shortage this may not be possible. Suggestion The Government needs to build large family based houses for African Australians (and other larger newly arrived families), that take in consideration cultural requirements. The model can be like that used for Indigenous communities where the communities were consulted and the government has designed and built places that address the cultural needs identified. Discrimination ILLUSTRATION One of the African families I work with received legal notice to leave the house as required by the landlord. The official reason was the end of the lease period. The unofficial reasons (not stated in the legal notice) were that they had damaged the house and more people than those listed on the lease were living in the house. Regarding the first argument, the agent made reference to a new stove which was not working two weeks after the family started using it. A notification for repair was made to the Real Estate but nobody came to fix it. After the required date for leaving the house, as the family had found no other place to move, the Real Estate eventually sent somebody for repair and it was found that an electrical failure (manufacture defect) was preventing the stove from working and there was not link between the family use of the stove and the defect. Consequently the Real Estate softened its position and allowed the family to stay in the house (without starting a judicial process) until they eventually find a new place to live. On the second count, the family was receiving daily visits from friends or relatives which made the house quite crowded during the day, but these persons were not living in the house and were out by the evening. No evidence has ever been provided by the Real Estate to substantiate their allegations. Relates to Q 4.10 In the story above, the family benefited as one of the family members has good English, is well-educated about the tenant’s rights and knows how to seek legal support. Consequently he stood up to the Real
Sub052.Mercy_Family_Services.docx