QAI made a submission to the inquiry into the provision and regulation of supported accommodation in Queensland.
In theory, hostels and boarding houses can provide a useful, short-term accommodation option for people with and without disability in Queensland. However, due to inadequate community support and a lack of accessible housing, supported accommodation facilities have become a long-term accommodation option for many people with disability who have no where else to live.
QAI is deeply concerned by this because:
1. Supported accommodation facilities do not meet standards for adequate housing;
2. Supported accommodation facilities can replicate institutional living for people with disability;
3. Supported accommodation facilities can be inappropriate places for people with complex support needs, and
4. Supported accommodation facilities perpetuate low expectations of people with disability which leads to violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation.
QAI therefore calls for the full deinstitutionalisation of people with disability through the provision of accessible and affordable housing, as well as individualised, community supports.
We must continue to work towards a future where all people, including people with disability with complex support needs, live in a home of their choosing, that is culturally appropriate, accessible and secure. This is not to say that every person should live alone. But rather, that every person, regardless of whether they have a disability, should be able to meaningfully choose where and with whom they live irrespective of what their support needs are.
QAI therefore recommends:
1. Urgently reforming the supported accommodation sector to uphold the rights of residents.
2. Supporting residents to transition away from supported accommodation.
3. Phasing out institutions in Queensland.
4. Investing in affordable and accessible housing.
5. Investing in accessible and personalised community supports.
Specific recommendations for reform under these headings are provided in the body of our submission.
Sustaining the current model is to be complicit in the continued institutionalisation of people with disability. We want supported people, not supported accommodation.