Stop Unfair Qld Public Housing Evictions Page

Thankfully a community group is calling out the government and breaking down the situation.

Queensland is engineering rough sleeping — and pretending it isn’t

We’re seeing more people sleeping rough. Not because people “choose parks”. Because policy is shoving them there, then airbrushing them off the books.

What the “anti-social behaviour” policy actually does

On 1 July, the government re-upped the anti-social behaviour framework and turned the screws. Three breach notices in 12 months and your tenancy can be ended. For “severe/illegal” behaviour, you can be exited immediately and banned from social housing for two years. You’ll also be told to prove 12–24 months of “good tenancy” in the private market before you can get back on the list - a fantasy for anyone on Centrelink or low wages.

The categories are elastic - from “nuisance” to “serious” to “dangerous” - and the policy makes tenants responsible for the behaviour of visitors. Accusation can be enough to trigger action. That’s collective punishment dressed as neighbourhood safety.

How IHR locks people out while claiming to help

The Immediate Housing Response (IHR) is sold as emergency relief. Read the fine print.

You must be eligible for social housing and lodge an application within 7 days or your motel booking can be cancelled. If you’re later found ineligible, your IHR ends.

If you left unsafe accommodation, declined a “reasonable” offer in the previous six months, or had IHR previously terminated for behaviour/property issues, you can be excluded. One “reasonable offer” only; refuse it and that’s it. ID is required. Initial bookings are typically no more than two weeks. Alleged illegal activity can end your stay.

So when the anti-social policy kicks someone out - and that tenant is banned from reapplying for two years - they lose the very thing IHR requires: an active, eligible housing application. Result: no tenancy, no waitlist, no emergency support. Disappeared by design.
Ministerial Media Statements

Meanwhile: councils are criminalising existing

City of Moreton Bay repealed its previous framework and made camping/sleeping on public land illegal, with fines flagged up to $8,000. Rangers have already thrown tents into garbage trucks. After this, Brisbane City Council moved to remove tents within 24 hours and “move on” rough sleepers.

Dress it up how you want - this reframes homelessness as a policing problem, not a housing failure.

The numbers back the street view

47,820 people were on Queensland’s waiting list earlier this year; average wait about 2.5 years. More recent ministerial data puts the list at ~52,000. Different dates, same story: demand dwarfs supply.

20% rise in homelessness since 2018; 112,000+ Greater Brisbane households in housing stress (up 22,000 since the 2021 Census); people at risk statewide up ~80% to ~715,000.

And the old income limits haven’t kept pace with reality: the $609/week cap for a single has been essentially unchanged since 2006 — a neat way to keep people off the register.

Why rough sleeping is rising

Put the pieces together:

Exit mechanisms got harsher (three strikes, immediate evictions, two-year bans).

Re-entry is blocked (private rental history requirements no one can meet).

Emergency support is conditional on being on the very system you’ve been pushed out of.

Public-space bans push people around like chess pieces and hide them from view.

Eligibility settings (like 2006-era income thresholds) keep the waitlist artificially tidy.

The data doesn’t shrink. Only the visibility does.

Nothing accidental here. The policy architecture manufactures rough sleeping - then the comms team calls it “fairness”.

What needs to happen

Pause evictions and bans tied to the new anti-social settings while independent harm/impact reviews are conducted. Publish the data.

Reinstate due process: clear appeal rights, external review, and support-first responses before any tenancy action.
Queensland Government

Update income limits to contemporary costs of living and index them annually.

End council-level criminalisation of survival. Repeal or suspend local laws used to fine people for sleeping. Redirect those dollars into housing supply and outreach.

Build and acquire at speed, and ring-fence long-term tenancies for the highest-need households. (Spare us the vanity “starts” count; deliver keys.)

What you can do today

Contact your MP & the Housing Minister: call for a pause on evictions/bans and for IHR reform.

Back legal support for tenants and rough sleepers fighting unlawful moves-on and unfair evictions.

Support frontline orgs actually housing and feeding people (and yes, keep receipts for when government says “all were offered accommodation”).

Document: photos, dates, names of housing centre staff, offers made/declined and why. Paper beats spin.

💙 Tonight, witness the story of America’s caregivers. From Executive Producer and Director , explores the emotional, physical, and financial realities faced by those who care for others. This documentary highlights the resilience of the human spirit. 📺

WEDU l JUN 24 l 9 PM
Stream on the PBS App 👉 pbs.org/show/caregiving/

The admins are taking time off to care for children, grandchildren and foster children and others in the school holidays. Thank you for all the private messages of support and to tell your stories.

Thank you QCOSS for standing up for families worried about eviction.

𝗧𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄, 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱’𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗟𝗡𝗣 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗕𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁. QCOSS CEO Aimee McVeigh told ABC Brisbane: “We know that more than 100,000 Queenslanders are experiencing housing insecurity. The number of people who need support is growing every day.” “We’ve seen some really positive announcements honouring pre-election commitments about funding for specialist homelessness services, and for building more social housing. We’ve also heard some more troubling announcements around the evictions of people living in social housing. What we need to see is how all of these things add up into a strategy which will then see changes for Queenslanders.” 𝗪𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿: • Strengthen the sustainability of the sector • End Queensland’s housing crisis • Reduce the cost of living • Support families with children • Invest in Queensland’s youth services • Advance women’s equality and address domestic and family violence 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀: https://www.qcoss.org.au/engaging-on-the-queensland-budget/

URGENT 📣 MEDIA INTEREST

Journalists are reaching out to hear from Queenslanders affected by outdated social housing income caps — and we need your help to make sure these stories are heard.

If your household is:

• Cutting back work hours
• Quitting jobs or turning down promotions
• Asking young adults or family members to move out
• Considering leaving study or care roles
• Carers choosing between earning an income or keeping a roof over their loved one’s head
• Worried about losing modified or accessible housing
• Or just living in fear of eviction…

Please message this page ASAP.

💬 You will remain anonymous unless you choose otherwise.
We can guide you through it, answer questions, and support you every step of the way.

Your story like others could help show the real-world impact of these policies — and that matters. When the media pays attention, so do decision-makers.

📩 Even if you’re not ready to speak publicly, your insights can shape the public conversation and push for reform.

We are incredibly grateful to meet with Meaghan Scanlon MP shadow housing Minister today for a detailed, thoughtful conversation about the urgent need to reform Queensland’s outdated public housing income caps.

Her genuine interest, questions, and clear grasp of the human impact gave us real hope — making herself available so quickly is really appreciated.

We also caught up with Mark Furner MP for Ferny Grove this afternoon, following in-person meetings yesterday with Steven Miles and Ali France MP.

That’s four Labor leaders in 24 hours — and every single one of them said the same thing:
💬 This issue is landing on their desks — and it’s coming from you, the community.

People are speaking up. The fear is real. And leaders are starting to listen.

We’re so grateful for the chance to be heard — and we’ll keep going, together.

Thank you Ali France MP and Steven Miles for discussing this very important issue. People in the housing community are scared. They are concerned about family relationships, having to ask adult kids to leave home so they can maintain eligibility, giving up work or discouraging family to work.

Families have concerns about care arrangements for disabled loved ones and if they will need to apply for more NDIS or Aged care funding to make up for the loss of informal care by loved ones. Mark Butler MP the cost in additional care should be considered. Informal carers save the government $80 billion dollars per year. We need to protect these heroes who give so much for others.

What will it take? Will it be vulnerable people becoming homeless. Maybe the stories hitting the media. We call the David Crisafulli MP and the minister Sam O'Connor MP to urgently review these caps. Creating a cruel game of musical chairs, upending stable households on modest incomes will cause harm.

Mobile office alert!!! Come and have a chat with Steven Miles and I at Murrumba Downs Shopping Centre tomorrow at 2pm - 3.30pm. ☺️

The Minister's post on his Facebook video (link in comments) announces no one should have to stress each June about their job. That’s great — but what about the people stressing about losing their homes?

It’s deeply tone deaf to focus on the comfort of salaried service providers while ignoring the fear and uncertainty facing public housing tenants. To have empathy for the actual homeless people.

The reviews due to start 1st of July, based on 2006 income caps, are pushing low-income families to the edge. Some are quitting jobs, splitting up households, or facing homelessness — just to stay under the limit.

We've heard from community group Northwest Community Group Inc. that the services in their network are not getting any additional funding. Just a continuation. Dressing up ongoing funding as more funding is typical political spin. You can’t claim to care about homelessness while creating more of it.

The issue of Head leasing as a solution is another issue that we will highlight at a later time. It can cost more over time without adding to the permanent housing supply. It’s a stopgap — not a real fix. Who does it benefit? How is it being managed? Is it tendered? Who profits??

QCOSS Michael Berkman - Greens MP for Maiwar Meaghan Scanlon MP Steven Miles Mark Butler MP RAHU - Renters And Housing Union

The Qld LNP government says they’re increasing funding for homelessness — but at the same time, they’re rolling out social housing reviews based on income caps set nearly 20 years ago.

You can’t claim to fight homelessness while using outdated rules that force low-income families out of public housing.

This isn’t support — it’s a revolving door. The reviews starting 1 July risk pushing even more people into crisis.

It’s time to raise the cap, fix the rules, and stop fuelling the very problem they claim to solve.



Meaghan Scanlon MP Steven Miles Michael Berkman - Greens MP for Maiwar Mark Butler MP QCOSS The Carers Foundation Australia Micah Projects Everybody's Home Campaign Jane Caro Northwest Community Group Inc. Nourish Street Inc J&T Supporting Homeless - Hervey Bay Queensland Youth Housing Coalition Sam O'Connor MP