The NSW Government is prioritising providing additional cleaning services to keep social housing residents safe amid ongoing COVID-19 lockdowns.
The announcement:
The NSW Government has tripled the number of cleaning visits to social housing properties in Sydney’s south west.
The additional services are a part of a $59.4 million initiative to protect NSW residents from the COVID-19 pandemic.
NSW Land and Housing Corporation Chief Executive Officer, Mick Cassel said cleaning contractors are now at social housing multi-unit buildings in the Canterbury-Bankstown, Fairfield and Liverpool Local Government Areas three times a week instead of once a week.
“The health and safety of our residents comes first so we immediately moved to increase cleaning of lifts and common areas of our 552 social housing sites in the three significantly affected LGAs,” Mr Cassel said.
“Many of our properties in these areas are for seniors so we are doing all we can to keep them safe, from enhanced cleaning to providing free packs of face masks.”
The NSW Land and Housing Corporation was allocated $12.27 million from the NSW Government between July and December 2021 for the enhanced cleaning, and the face masks were provided by the Department of Communities and Justice who manage and support our residents.
The NSW Government invested in $59.4 million of additional cleaning from March 2020 to December 2021, with $47 million delivered so far.
Mr Cassel said the funding comes on top of the $200 million maintenance program announced in the 2020/21 NSW Budget to both improve social housing properties and provide economic stimulus during pandemic.
“We are doing all we can for our tenants while also providing jobs for cleaners, maintenance crews and other workers in communities across NSW,” Mr Cassel said.
The NSW Land and Housing Corporation (LAHC) is a self-funded Public Trading Enterprise (PTE), governed by the Housing Act 2001, and is part of the NSW Government’s Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE).
LAHC manages the largest social housing portfolio in Australia with over 126,000 properties, delivering fit for purpose homes for people in need across NSW.
Source: New South Wales Land and Housing Corporation
