Michael Ferguson,Minister for State Development, Construction and Housing
The Tasmanian Liberal Government is helping young Tasmanians in need by prioritising accommodation for young people who are homeless.
Supported accommodation provides a young person with not only a bed and a place to call home but also essential support services to help them take part in education, develop living skills, facilitate community connections and reunify with family wherever possible.
That's why today, the Tasmanian Government has released a Request for Grant Proposal (RFGP) to provide supported accommodation at the Launceston Youth at Risk Centre.
The successful provider will operate support services within a soon to be refurbished property in central Launceston. This will provide eight residential single-bedroom units, along with common and recreational areas for young residents and on-site staff amenities.
The construction tender for the refurbishment is being finalised with works expected to commence from late next month.
This is part of our record investment of $615 million into social and affordable housing, and homelessness initiatives, which includes our record election commitment of $280 million to extend our building program of new social housing for Tasmanians in need.
This means that we will build an extra 2000 new homes by 2027, on top of the 1,500 already being built over the next three years, bringing the total to 3,500 new homes by 2027 to help our most vulnerable.
This historic spend also supports our economy, through thousands of jobs in our building and construction sector while locking in a future pipeline of work.
The Request for Grant Proposal documents are available from the Department of Communities' website: www.communities.tas.gov.au. Interested proponents are also encouraged to attend a virtual pre-proposal briefing on Thursday, 10 June 2021, 12:00 noon – 1:00 pm.
