Arts, Design & Architecture Social Policy Research Centre

A longitudinal study of the wellbeing of Amélie Housing Social and Affordable Housing Fund social housing tenants

Baseline Report

Published on the 16 August 2023 by Dr Hazel Blunden

The Social and Affordable Housing Fund (SAHF) is a key initiative of the NSW Government’s 10-year vision for social housing Future Directions for Social Housing in NSW.

St Vincent de Paul Housing (SVDPH), a special purpose community housing company that runs Amélie Housing, the St Vincent de Paul Society’s national community housing provider Amélie Housing.

Social Policy Research Centre has conducted a longitudinal study tracking the wellbeing of Amelie Housing's social housing tenants from 2019-2023 for SVDP. This included analysis of tenant surveys, comparison of wellbeing indicators to other social housing tenants and the Australian population generally, and tenant interviews with Amélie Housing tenants from three apartment complexes in NSW.

The baseline report includes analysis of data from Wave 1 interviews with clients at the three case study sites and survey data on tenant wellbeing and satisfaction with housing and support, while the Final Report will analyse the data longitudinally after Wave 2, looking for any changes in wellbeing among tenants over time, highlight tenant challenges and suggest any improvements on how Amelie Housing provides supports to its tenants.

Interviews with tenants explored their experiences with Amélie Housing and the impact of receiving support from SVDP NSW on social participation and wellbeing, covering their housing journey, health, education, cost of living, employment, social and family relationships, dwelling amenity, neighbourhood, location, and tenancy management, among other topics. 

The baseline report was published in August 2023 and the Final Report will be published in October 2023.

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Social Policy Research Centre

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Families and Communities

The Social and Affordable Housing Fund (SAHF) is a key initiative of the NSW Government’s 10-year vision for social housing Future Directions for Social Housing in NSW.

St Vincent de Paul Housing (SVDPH), a special purpose community housing company owned by the Trustees of the St Vincent de Paul Society NSW (SVDP), is a contracted service provider under the SAHF. SVDPH subcontracts Amélie Housing, the St Vincent de Paul Society’s national community housing provider to provide asset and tenancy management, tailored support coordination services, and performance and data reporting. Amélie Housing subcontracts tailored support coordination services to the St Vincent de Paul Society NSW (SVDP NSW, the ‘Company’). 

SVDP NSW commissioned the Social Policy Research Centre at UNSW Sydney (the University of New South Wales) to conduct a longitudinal study tracking the wellbeing of its SAHF social housing tenants from 2019-2023. This baseline report includes analysis of data from Wave 1 interviews with clients at the three case study sites of Campbelltown, Merrylands and Maitland and survey data on tenant wellbeing and satisfaction with housing and support.

Interviews with tenants were designed to explore their experiences with Amélie Housing and the impact of receiving support from SVDP NSW on social participation and wellbeing. Survey data allows comparison between selected tenant wellbeing outcomes for Amélie Housing tenants, the broader population of social housing tenants and the general population. 

Thank you to Mark Ludbrooke, Rhiannon Cook and Solange Frost from the St Vincent de Paul Society and Arthur Chapman from St Vincent de Paul Housing. Thanks also to Malcolm Picken, Amélie Housing’s SAHF Program Manager, to James Newell and all the Tailored Support Coordinators at St Vincent de Paul NSW, and to the tenants who participated in interviews and shared their views with the researchers.

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