Housing and Indigenous disability: lived experiences of housing and community infrastructure

155 Pages·2017·5.59 MB·English

PEER
REVIEWED
Housing and Indigenous disability:
lived experiences of housing and
community infrastructure
FOR T HE A U T H ORED BY
nailartsuA gnisuoH Elizabeth Grant
dna nabrU R hcraese Ietutitsn The University of Adelaide
George Zillante
PU B LI C A T I O N DATE The University of Adelaide
Amit Srivastava
June 2017
The University of Adelaide
DOI Selina Tually
The University of Adelaide
doi:10.18408/ahuri-3103001
Alwin Chong
The University of Adelaide
Authors Elizabeth Grant
The University of Adelaide
George Zillante The University of Adelaide
Amit Srivastava The University of Adelaide
Selina Tually
The University of Adelaide
Alwin Chong
The University of Adelaide
Title Lived experiences of housing and community infrastructure
among Indigenous people with disability
ISBN 978-1-925334-47-0
Format PDF
Key words
Editor Anne Badenhorst AHURI National Office
Publisher Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute Limited
Melbourne, Australia
DOI 10.18408/ahuri-3103001
Series AHURI Final Report; no. 283
ISSN 1834-7223
Preferred citation Grant, E., Zillante, G., Srivastava, A., Tually, S. and Chong, A.
(2017) Lived experiences of housing and community
infrastructure among Indigenous people with disability, AHURI
Final Report No. 283, Australian Housing and Urban Research
Institute, Melbourne, http://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-
reports/283, doi:10.18408/ahuri-3103001

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AHURI
AHURI is a national independent research network with an expert not-for-profit
research management company, AHURI Limited, at its centre.
AHURI has a public good mission to deliver high quality research that influences
policy development to improve the housing and urban environments of all Australians.
Through active engagement, AHURI’s work informs the policies and practices of
governments and the housing and urban development industries, and stimulates
debate in the broader Australian community.
AHURI undertakes evidence-based policy development on a range of issues,
including: housing and labour markets, urban growth and renewal, planning and
infrastructure development, housing supply and affordability, homelessness,
economic productivity, and social cohesion and wellbeing.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This material was produced with funding from the Australian Government and state
and territory governments. AHURI Limited gratefully acknowledges the financial and
other support it has received from these governments, without which this work would
not have been possible.
AHURI Limited also gratefully acknowledges the contributions, both financial and in-
kind, of its university research partners who have helped make the completion of this
material possible.
Additional in-kind support was provided by the School of Architecture and Urban
Design and the Centre for Housing, Urban and Regional Planning (CHURP), The
University of Adelaide. We would like to thank the following organisations and
individuals who have been generous with their time and in sharing information: the
First Peoples Disability Network (FPDN) Australia, particularly Gayle Rankine and
Damian Griffis; the residents of Yalata community, the board and staff of Yalata
Community Council, and Yalata Community Inc., especially Maureen (Mima) Smart
OAM, Russell Bryant, Dora Queama and Greg Franks; the board and staff of
Tullawon Health Service Inc., in particular, Joanne Badke, Patricia Miller and Luke
Badke; the board, staff and clients of the Ceduna Koonibba Aboriginal Health Service;
the residents of Point Pearce; the board and staff of the Point Pearce Aboriginal
Community Council, particularly John Buckskin, Graham Power and Tristan Power;
the staff of the Yorke Peninsula Aboriginal Health Service; participants from the
Geelong Region, including the board and staff at Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-
operative, in particular, Kym Monohan, Liz Abrahams, Sandy Manning and Karen
Anderson; the staff at the National Disability Insurance Agency/Scheme (NDIA/NDIS)
in Geelong, especially Liam O’Hagan and Gerard Corbett; and staff from Housing SA,
especially Marcus Richards. The members of the policy advisory committee were
generous with their time and we would like to thank Trevor Buzzacott (Department for
Communities and Social Inclusion), Olive Bennell (Anglicare), Christopher Charles
(Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement), Natalie Hann (Department of the Prime Minister
and Cabinet), Rod Jackson (Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative), in addition to
previously mentioned individuals from FPDN and Housing SA. Professor Justin Beilby
and Professor Andrew Beer have been key members of the research team, providing
critical commentary. Our thanks also to Julia Law (CHURP) for producing Figure 2
and Dr Cecile Cutler (CHURP) for editing assistance.
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DISCLAIMER
The opinions in this report reflect the views of the authors and do not necessarily
reflect those of AHURI Limited, its Board or its funding organisations. No responsibility
is accepted by AHURI Limited, its Board or funders for the accuracy or omission of
any statement, opinion, advice or information in this publication.
Important information for people with disability and their families
The findings presented in this report are of a general nature. They do not constitute
legal or financial advice and should not be relied upon as such.
People with disability and families considering investment in shared ownership
housing are strongly encouraged to seek independent financial advice based on their
personal and financial circumstances.

AHURI JOURNAL
AHURI Final Report journal series is a refereed series presenting the results of
original research to a diverse readership of policy-makers, researchers and
practitioners.

PEER REVIEW STATEMENT
An objective assessment of reports published in the AHURI journal series by carefully
selected experts in the field ensures that material published is of the highest quality.
The AHURI journal series employs a double-blind peer review of the full report, where
anonymity is strictly observed between authors and referees.

COPYRIGHT
© Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute Limited 2017
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0
International License, see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.

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CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................VIII
LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................... X
ACRONYMS ............................................................................................................... XI
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................................. 1
1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 5
1.1 Study aims ........................................................................................................... 6
1.2 Key research questions ........................................................................................ 7
1.3 Method ................................................................................................................. 8
1.4 The language of ‘disability’: a research and policy framework .............................. 9
1.4.1 Disability ..................................................................................................... 9
1.4.2 Appropriate housing .................................................................................. 11
1.4.3 Housing quality ......................................................................................... 12
1.4.4 Community infrastructure .......................................................................... 12
1.4.5 Lived experience ....................................................................................... 13
1.4.6 Terms relating to housing design .............................................................. 13
1.5 Report structure ................................................................................................. 14
2 HOUSING INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS WITH DISABILITY IN AN ERA
OF DISABILITY SERVICES REFORM .............................................................. 15
2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 15
2.2 Disability, disability reform and Indigenous Australians ...................................... 16
2.2.1 Disability reform ........................................................................................ 17
2.2.2 The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) .................................... 18
2.3 Disability and housing ........................................................................................ 21
2.4 The NDIS and housing ....................................................................................... 24
2.5 The NDIS, housing and Indigenous people with disability .................................. 26
2.6 Culturally responsive housing for Indigenous people with disability .................... 27
2.7 Summary ........................................................................................................... 33
3 UNDERSTANDING LIVED EXPERIENCES OF HOUSING AND
COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE ................................................................... 35
3.1 Methodological approach ................................................................................... 36
3.1.1 Setting the context .................................................................................... 36
3.1.2 Lived experiences of housing and community infrastructure ..................... 36
3.1.3 Assessments of housing and community infrastructure ............................. 37
3.1.4 Data analysis ............................................................................................ 43
3.1.5 Methodological limitations ......................................................................... 43
4 CASE STUDY: YALATA ................................................................................... 45
4.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 45
4.1.1 Health and disability .................................................................................. 46
4.2 Housing and community infrastructure in Yalata ................................................ 48
4.2.1 Housing design for disability ..................................................................... 49

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4.2.2 Community housing stock ......................................................................... 50
4.2.3 Independent living units ............................................................................ 51
4.2.4 Other accommodation ............................................................................... 52
4.2.5 Community infrastructure .......................................................................... 52
4.3 Assessments of housing and community infrastructure ...................................... 53
4.3.1 House one ................................................................................................ 53
4.3.2 House two ................................................................................................. 53
4.3.3 House three .............................................................................................. 54
4.3.4 House four ................................................................................................ 54
4.3.5 Independent living unit .............................................................................. 54
4.3.6 Community infrastructure .......................................................................... 55
4.3.7 Analysis of housing assessments ............................................................. 56
4.4 Lived experiences of housing and community infrastructure in Yalata ................ 59
4.4.1 Mobility ..................................................................................................... 61
4.4.2 Movement away from Yalata ..................................................................... 62
4.4.3 Community housing .................................................................................. 63
4.4.4 Independent living units ............................................................................ 66
4.5 Preferred models of housing for people with disability: Yalata ............................ 68
4.6 Summary ........................................................................................................... 69
5 CASE STUDY: POINT PEARCE ....................................................................... 71
5.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 71
5.1.1 Health and disability .................................................................................. 71
5.2 Housing and community infrastructure in Point Pearce ...................................... 72
5.2.1 Community housing .................................................................................. 73
5.2.2 Supported accommodation ....................................................................... 74
5.2.3 Disability housing at Point Pearce ............................................................. 74
5.2.4 Community infrastructure .......................................................................... 74
5.3 Assessment of housing and community infrastructure ........................................ 74
5.3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................... 74
5.3.2 House one ................................................................................................ 75
5.3.3 House two ................................................................................................. 75
5.3.4 House three .............................................................................................. 75
5.3.5 House four ................................................................................................ 76
5.3.6 House five ................................................................................................. 76
5.3.7 Community infrastructure .......................................................................... 76
5.3.8 Analysis and summary of housing assessments ....................................... 77
5.4 Lived experiences of housing and community infrastructure in Point Pearce ..... 79
5.4.1 Mobility ..................................................................................................... 81
5.4.2 Returning to Point Pearce ......................................................................... 82
5.4.3 Specific housing concerns ........................................................................ 83
5.5 Preferred models of housing for people with disability: Point Pearce .................. 85

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5.6 Summary ........................................................................................................... 85
6 CASE STUDY: GEELONG ................................................................................ 87
6.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 87
6.1.1 Health and disability .................................................................................. 87
6.2 Housing and community infrastructure in Geelong ............................................. 89
6.2.1 Public housing .......................................................................................... 89
6.2.2 Community infrastructure .......................................................................... 89
6.3 Assessments of housing .................................................................................... 90
6.3.1 House one ................................................................................................ 90
6.3.2 House two ................................................................................................. 90
6.3.3 House three .............................................................................................. 91
6.3.4 House four ................................................................................................ 91
6.3.5 House five ................................................................................................. 92
6.3.6 House six .................................................................................................. 92
6.3.7 House seven ............................................................................................. 93
6.3.8 Community infrastructure .......................................................................... 93
6.3.9 Analysis and summary of housing assessments ....................................... 94
6.4 Lived experiences of housing and community infrastructure in Greater Geelong 96
6.4.1 Basic amenities ......................................................................................... 98
6.4.2 Housing repairs and maintenance ............................................................. 98
6.4.3 Housing choice ......................................................................................... 99
6.4.4 Home modifications ................................................................................ 100
6.4.5 Safety ..................................................................................................... 101
6.4.6 Homelessness ........................................................................................ 101
6.5 Preferred models of housing for people with disability: Geelong ...................... 102
6.6 Summary ......................................................................................................... 103
7 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS ............................................................... 104
7.1 Health and disability ......................................................................................... 105
7.1.1 Prevalence of disability ........................................................................... 105
7.1.2 Types of disabilities ................................................................................. 106
7.1.3 Indigenous constructs of disability ........................................................... 106
7.2 Housing............................................................................................................ 108
7.2.1 Location of housing ................................................................................. 108
7.2.2 Access to housing ................................................................................... 109
7.2.3 The condition of Indigenous housing ....................................................... 110
7.2.4 Housing modifications ............................................................................. 110
7.3 The design of housing for Indigenous people with disability ............................. 112
7.3.1 Incoherence in design ............................................................................. 112
7.3.2 The design of specialist accommodation ................................................. 112
7.3.3 Indigenous people with cognitive and/or psychosocial disability .............. 113
7.4 Indigenous people with disability, housing and the NDIS ................................. 114

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7.5 Key research recommendations ....................................................................... 115
7.5.1 General recommendations for housing and the housing sector ............... 116
7.5.2 Recommendations for community infrastructure ..................................... 116
7.6 Policy recommendations .................................................................................. 117
REFERENCES ......................................................................................................... 118
APPENDICES ........................................................................................................... 135
Appendix 1: ABS definition of ‘core activity limitation’ ................................................ 135
Appendix 2: ABS table of limitations, restrictions, activities and tasks ....................... 136
Appendix 3: Guidelines in the National Indigenous housing guide relevant to people
with disability .................................................................................................... 138

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LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Telling it like it is findings: Aboriginal Disability Network NSW ..................... 28
Table 2: Examples of key design elements and attributes to inform housing for
Indigenous people with disability (from the checklist developed by Walls, Millikan
et al. 2013) ......................................................................................................... 31
Table 3: Best practice approaches to constructing and maintaining houses in
Indigenous communities (from Pholeros and Phibbs 2012) ................................ 32
Table 4: Housing as a social determinant of Indigenous health (from Ware 2013) .... 33
Table 5: Core activity need for assistance by age and sex, Yalata, 2011 .................. 47
Table 6: Count of occupied and unoccupied private dwellings and persons in occupied
private dwellings, Yalata, 2011 ........................................................................... 50
Table 7: Dwellings by number of bedrooms, Yalata, 2011 ......................................... 50
Table 8: Household composition by number of persons present on census night,
Yalata, 2011 ....................................................................................................... 51
Table 9: Compliance with NCC recommendations of houses visited, Yalata ............. 57
Table 10: Compliance with NIHG guidelines of houses visited, Yalata ...................... 57
Table 11: Housing compliance with other guidelines and recommendations, Yalata . 58
Table 12: Age and sex of study participants, Yalata .................................................. 60
Table 13: Impairment types reported by study participants, Yalata ............................ 60
Table 14: Other health conditions reported by study participants, Yalata .................. 61
Table 15: Primary housing being used by study participants, Yalata ......................... 61
Table 16: Level of satisfaction with community housing of study participants, Yalata 63
Table 17: Number of people occupying housing with study participant, Yalata .......... 64
Table 18: Basic housing amenities in community housing, Yalata ............................. 65
Table 19: Household composition by number of persons present on Census night,
Point Pearce, 2011 ............................................................................................ 73
Table 20: Compliance with NCC recommendations of houses visited, Point Pearce . 78
Table 21: Compliance with NIHG guidelines of houses visited, Point Pearce ............ 78
Table 22: Compliance with other guidelines and recommendations, Point Pearce .... 79
Table 23: Age and sex of study participants, Point Pearce ........................................ 80
Table 24: Impairment types reported by study participants, Point Pearce ................. 80
Table 25: Other health conditions reported by study participants, Point Pearce ........ 81
Table 26: Level of satisfaction with housing of study participants, Point Pearce ........ 82
Table 27: Basic housing amenities, all housing types, Point Pearce ......................... 83
Table 28: Number of people occupying housing with study participant, Point Pearce 83
Table 29: Core activity need for assistance by age and sex, City of Greater Geelong,
2011 ................................................................................................................... 88

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Table 30: Compliance with NCC recommendations of houses visited, Greater
Geelong ............................................................................................................. 94
Table 31: Compliance with NIHG recommendations of houses visited, Greater
Geelong ............................................................................................................. 95
Table 32: Compliance with other guidelines and recommendations, Greater Geelong
.......................................................................................................................... 95
Table 33: Age and sex of study participants, Geelong ............................................... 96
Table 34: Impairment types reported by study participants, Greater Geelong ........... 97
Table 35: Other health conditions reported by study participants, Greater Geelong .. 97
Table 36: Number of people occupying housing with study participant, Greater
Geelong ............................................................................................................. 97
Table 37: Level of satisfaction with housing of study participants, Geelong ............... 98
Table 38: Basic housing amenities, all housing types, Greater Geelong ................... 98

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