MEDIA RELEASE
Auditor General’s Report Confirms Urgent Need for Public Housing Maintenance Reform in WA
Broome, WA – 27 August 2025
Kimberley Community Legal Services (KCLS) has welcomed the findings of the WA Auditor General’s new report into the management of public housing maintenance, saying it confirms what Kimberley tenants have been telling them for years: the system is failing.
The report found that 85% of housing repairs are reactive, maintenance costs have skyrocketed by 44% since 2019, and overcharging by contractors remains widespread. Meanwhile, the public housing waitlist has blown out by 56%, with more than 21,000 people waiting for a home.
KCLS CEO Matt Panayi said the report backs up community voices collected through KCLS’s own housing maintenance project.
“This audit makes it clear that the current system is not working. Houses are sitting empty for weeks while families wait in overcrowded conditions, costs are blowing out, and too many repairs are left undone. These are not just statistics—they represent real people in our region living with the consequences of a reactionary maintenance model.”
The Auditor General recommended that the Department of Housing and Works urgently improve its data collection, reduce delays in turning around vacant homes, and tackle systemic overcharging by contractors.
KCLS says the Government must go further and use this opportunity to overhaul how housing maintenance is delivered in the Kimberley.
“Local voices must be at the centre of the solution,” Mr Panayi said. “We need a regionally led model that empowers Kimberley communities, improves response times, and ensures homes are safe and habitable. Without change, the cycle of poor maintenance and rising costs will continue to negatively impact the people its supposed to support.”
KCLS will be releasing its own report next year, based on client case studies, tenant surveys and community consultations, with concrete recommendations for reform tailored to the Kimberley context.
Media contact:
Akira Boardman, Kimberley Community Legal Services.
akira_boardman@kcls.org.au
0431 385 255
