Boarding House Act 2012 Parliamentary review
BOARDING HOUSES

In October 2012, the Parliament of New South Wales (NSW) passed the Boarding Houses Act 2012 (NSW), as a central part of its bid to strengthen and regulate boarding houses in NSW. In 2019 a review board collected feedback about the boarding house sector and the influence the 2012 Act has had upon it. This feedback came in the form of 63 submissions from stakeholders and the public, and the recommendations made therein for the reform of the 2012 Act were collated and presented to the NSW Legislative Assembly in August 2020, in the Report on the Statutory Review of the Boarding Houses Act 2012.

Newtown Neighbourhood Centre was a partner in a five year evaluation study of the Act with  two Universities- initially, the University of Western Sydney, and subsequently the Australian Catholic University.  The Evaluation study project objectives were to:
  • assess the effect of the Act on the well-being of residents of boarding houses;
  • assess whether the rights of residents are better protected;
  • determine the effect of the Act on the sustainability of the boarding house sector;  and
  • determine levels of collaboration between departments, agencies and community organisations that work with the boarding house sector.

The final phase of the evaluation was undertaken and was published in early 2018. The findings from this report directed and influenced submissions made to the review board in October 2019.

To learn about the Act, there is a detailed guide in the form of a Discussion Paper in the right column. The Easy English Discussion Paper covers the same material, in an easier-to-access format. Both of these papers provide points that are intended to stimulate discussion and ideas. 
For further reading
Final report to the NSW Legislative Assembly

Shelter NSW - Boarding Houses Report,​ July 2019

NNC Final Report on the Boarding Houses Evaluation Project 
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