By CASEY NEILL
A DANDENONG couple are living on bread, Vegemite and leftover fruit as their wait for public housing reaches 10 years.
And the Department of Human Services (DHS) can’t say when it will come to an end, with more than 3800 people on the list for a home in Greater Dandenong and its surrounds.
Alan, who did not want his surname published, said the DHS first approved his application for a two bedroom house or unit in 2003.
“I’ve had medical problems for over 10 years and so far have had 27 operations with more to come,” he said.
“I have provided paperwork on all these matters to DHS at Dandenong.”
The 58-year-old has also provided full documentation of his 52-year-old wife’s medical conditions, which include a crack in her ninth vertebrae and several recent operations.
“My wife and I live by the law and we want to do the right thing by everyone and everything,” he said.
“We did work all our life in this country but we got sick and there is nothing we can do.”
Since his first successful application, Alan has lodged several others on advice from DHS staff, including an early housing application in May this year which he has yet to receive a response to.
“I have personally handed in applications at the new DHS building in Dandenong and witnessed these being stamped with the date,” he said.
“The staff told me to leave it with them, and that they will write to me.
“I have done what they asked every time but they still can’t give me a straight answer.”
The couple is leasing a property in Dandenong for $1347 a month. It has 17 steps, which Alan’s wife finds difficult to manoeuvre.
“We’re buying Coles bread for $1 and Vegemite for $4, and left over fruit on Saturday at Dandenong Market and vegetables so we can survive,” Alan said.
They each receive a $670 Disability Support Pension fortnightly but also have medical and utility bills to pay.
Alan has taken his complaint to the Ombudsman and is awaiting an outcome.
A DHS spokeswoman told the Star that public housing in Victoria was structured to first offer support to those who needed it most.
Those who are homeless, for example, are generally eligible for ‘early housing’.
“The wait turn list is for those who are eligible for public housing but don’t meet the criteria to be housed earlier and are generally living in secure private rental,” she said.
“It is difficult to estimate the waiting time applicants can experience for accommodation due to the high demand for housing, low turnover of the type of accommodation required, and the number of early housing applicants who are already approved on the waiting list.”
The spokeswoman said records showed Alan and his wife had twice applied for early housing on medical grounds but had been “unable to demonstrate their accommodation was unsuitable or had a detrimental impact on their health”.
“These decisions were independently reviewed and upheld.
“The department has not received an early housing application from the applicant since 2007,” she said.
Figures for June released last week showed 204 fewer people waiting for public housing at the Dandenong Housing Office compared to the same time last year.
But there are still 3828 people on the list, which covers the Greater Dandenong, Casey and Cardinia municipalities.
“We have reviewed vacancy rates and turnover procedures and times, and are working harder with those who have been waiting the longest to be housed,” Housing Minister Wendy Lovell said.
“We are also making people more aware of their options, with regard to community housing, bond loans for the private rental market, and other assistance,” she said.
