The Federal Court suit backs Aboriginal tenants residing in remote areas of the state
Slater and Gordon has initiated a class action against the Housing Authority and the state of WA on behalf of thousands of Aboriginal tenants residing in public housing across remote areas of the state.
The Federal Court suit alleges that the respondents violated residential tenancy, contract, and consumer protection laws as lessors of public housing in remote Aboriginal communities between 1 July 2010 and 19 August 2024. The accusations include:
- inadequate delivery of maintenance, repair, and improvement services to public housing properties and/or failure to provide these services within a reasonable timeframe
- the provision of housing that is not reasonably secure and comfortable
- failure to provide public housing rental properties that complied with basic health and safety laws
The suit also claims that given their knowledge of the fact that there were few housing providers in remote Aboriginal communities, the Housing Authority and the State engaged in unconscionable conduct by taking advantage of Aboriginal tenants' limited housing options, lack of negotiating power, and lack of information about their rights. Moreover, high rents were reportedly charged for substandard properties; rent amounts could also change without adequate explanation.
Australian Lawyers for Remote Aboriginal Rights has partnered with Slater and Gordon on this case. As suggested in the statement of claim, tenants who leased or are leasing the thousands of public housing properties rented by Aboriginal tenants across East Kimberley, West Kimberley, Pilbara, Wheatbelt, Mid West, Gascoyne, and Goldfields-Esperance during the set timeframe are included in the suit.
As per Slater and Gordon’s investigation of nearly 200 such housing properties, many homes did not have functioning toilets, showers, cooking facilities, lights, safe drinking water, doors, functioning locks, reliable electricity and/or inadequate heating and/or cooling. Some tenants also reportedly had to reside in properties with broken windows, blocked, pipes, exposed electrical wiring, mould and pest infestations.
“Aboriginal Australians are paying hundreds of dollars a fortnight to live in houses that don’t provide even the most basic needs”, Slater and Gordon class actions principal lawyer Gemma Leigh-Dodds said. “There are some communities where the water from the tap is not safe to drink due to high levels of contaminants like nitrates and uranium. As a result, some community members are forced – and have been for years – to rely on bottled water for drinking and cooking. It’s as if the State has decided, ‘that’ll do’ when it comes to Aboriginal Australians. This class action will establish, among many other things, that the supply of safe drinking water is a basic legal entitlement that every tenant should have access to in Australia in 2024”.
In the class action, the lead applicant and other group members are seeking the following:
- financial compensation for losses and damages, including reimbursement of rent for properties lacking basic working amenities, as well as for inconvenience, disappointment and distress caused by housing issues
- reimbursement for costs incurred in addressing housing defects, such as the purchase and installation of air conditioners, door locks and increased power costs
“Every person, regardless of where they live, deserves safe and reasonable housing. For too long, Aboriginal people living in remote communities have been expected to ‘put up and shut up’ regarding their housing rights. By filing this class action on their behalf, we are demanding better housing justice for Aboriginal Western Australians”, Leigh-Dodds said.
