While SIHIP is a bold commitment to tackle current housing disadvantage in remote NT, and much has been done since the Review, the growth rate of the Indigenous population and the challenges of delivering quality housing and infrastructure in remote communities will ensure that there are ongoing issues to be addressed as it is rolled out. To inform this subsequent work, the SIHIP experience will be important for what it teaches about the effectiveness of its innovation in procurement, its scale, the form of government partnership and its attempt to achieve an integrated solution to housing in remote areas.
The SIHIP team's achievements since the Review are significant. This PRA confirmed that the Australian and NT Governments are working in close partnership, much progress has been made in implementing the actions and recommendations emerging from the Review and the risk of SIHIP not achieving its targets have been substantially reduced. The SIHIP approach on the ground has produced exceptional local employment outcomes, and has highlighted opportunities for employment gains and economic benefits that go beyond the immediate housing and employment gains associated with SIHIP itself.
It is too early to determine if actions implemented and those in the process of implementation will be fully effective in delivering SIHIP's housing outputs in the required number, at the right price, and in the right timeframe. However, the PRA has observed appropriate adjustments and systems have been implemented vigorously to deliver the intended program outcomes with sharp focus, stronger program controls and more effective monitoring arrangements. The Alliance Partners are also better positioned, albeit variably, to increase production substantially. There are strong prospects of a major increase in outputs in 2010 and of aggregate program targets being fully met by 2013.
At this juncture, SIHIP management require the opportunity to embed and improve processes and systems put in place since the Review, to work with Alliance Partners as agreed to facilitate the achievement of housing outcomes, and to consider and respond substantively to the opportunities for improvement raised in this PRA.
The following points summarise some of these opportunities:
- Continue the integration of SIHIP into Remote Housing NT, in acknowledgement of the linkages with and between property and tenancy management and infrastructure provision.
- Consider bringing forward NPA RIH funds to achieve better value and scale in housing works, including repairs and maintenance and refurbishments,
- Consider the use of Alliance Partners to deliver additional repairs and maintenance required to achieve public housing occupancy standards before tenants move back into properties,
- Ensure assessment criteria for investment and performance indicators are appropriate and accommodate the longer term objectives of SIHIP, including the social and economic development objectives,
- Ensure financial planning criteria and performance measures include value-for-money assessments relating to the economic life of housing and assessment of cost escalation over the life of SIHIP and the NPA RIH,
- Maintain a commitment to Alliancing in SIHIP, and evaluate the contribution of Alliancing to the achieving the objectives of SIHIP well before the program ceases with a view to being able to extend its application to the NPA RIH,
- Also assess other non traditional project procurement options for strong and sustained outcomes in and beyond SIHIP,
- Pay particular attention to population trends and overcrowding in remote communities to inform estimates of funding required for housing and related services.
The systems and processes which this PRA identified as in development should be fully executed and generating data by the end of the 2010 dry season. This will provide a further opportunity to assess the collective performance of the partners in SIHIP in turning the Review's recommendations into housing outcomes and making substantial progress towards the 2013 targets. While the PRA concluded that appropriate processes and control systems were being developed and linked to each other in ways that significantly enhance the likelihood of expected outputs and outcomes, the volume and complexity of the simultaneous changes pose a risk to achievement that should be monitored closely and re-evaluated within 12 months.