Waterloo Public Housing Tenants Survey

In 2023, the Centre for Primary Health Care and Equity at UNSW were commissioned to conduct an online survey of the Waterloo public housing tenants by the Waterloo Human Services Collaborative Group to inform the ongoing work of the Waterloo Human Services Action Plan. The Action Plan has six priority areas focusing on the existing and ongoing needs of the Waterloo community.

The survey aimed to better understand four areas prioritised by the Action Plan: the health and wellbeing of the tenants, safety and experience of crime, their experience with government and community services, and their attitudes about the Waterloo community and to give the collaborative a baseline data set.

• 320 residents completed a survey between 3 February and 26 June 2023. 
• Most respondents completed the survey in English (85%), 10% in Chinese, 5% in Russian and less than 2% in Vietnamese. 
• Most respondents were male (56%) and aged 55-74 years (52%).
• Almost 17% of respondents were Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
• Twenty-three percent of respondents spoke a language other than English most often at home (23%).

Keys results

• Fifty-eight percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they felt part of the community and 57% agreed or strongly agreed that ‘My community is a great place to live’.
• Forty-nine percent of respondents reported their health as fair or poor.
• More than one in four respondents reported that they felt lonely often during the previous four weeks.
• Most respondents felt they unsafe or very unsafe walking around the neighbourhood at night.
• Fifty-four percent of respondents experienced one of the following crimes at or near the Waterloo Housing Estate in the last 6 months: had their home burgled or broken into, had something stolen from them, were insulted, or harassed in public, were physically assaulted in public.
• Disturbingly, one in five respondents reported having been physically assaulted in public in public and 44% reported witnessing someone else being physically assaulted at or near the Waterloo Housing Estate in the last 6 months.
• There was concern among residents about anti-social behaviour on the housing estate including drug use and drug dealing, excessive alcohol use in public places, noisy and rowdy, inconsiderate behaviour, vandalism and property damage and aggressive and violent behaviour.
• Most respondents who had used general practice, hospitals, the NDIS, interpreting and translation service and Centrelink were satisfied or very satisfied with the service provided. Respondents were least satisfied with aged care services, and housing estate services.

What happens next?

We will continue to implement the Waterloo Human Services Action Plan take action to improve tenant support services. This baseline data will help us to evaluate our progress and impact of the action plan.

We will continue to update tenants through local news sources, events, and community group meetings.

For more information on the Collaborative Group or the Action Plan, visit www.waterloo2017.com or email wtrlhms@dcj.nsw.gov.au or talk to a participating agency.

The full report is available at : https://waterloo2017.com/reports