After weeks of protests, resident relocations and community action, the first excavators have arrived in Waterloo South, marking the next stage of a redevelopment over a decade in the making.
The 3,300 new dwellings will combine social, affordable and private housing, with the first social homes expected to be ready by 2030.
The redevelopment is the key point of contention between campaigners seeking to preserve and renovate existing public housing and the NSW Government, which argues the project will deliver more homes overall.
Two opposing sides
Protesters, including Action for Public Housing and House You, argue the redevelopment represents a loss of public housing at a time of severe shortage. They say the Minns government’s election commitment to protect public housing has not been met and are calling for a halt to demolitions in favour of renovated, government-owned housing on the site.
The NSW Government maintains the project will deliver more homes overall, including a mix of social, affordable and private housing. It says the redevelopment is necessary to replace ageing buildings and that tenants are being relocated rather than evicted.
Why the debate is complicated
At the centre of the dispute lies the distinction between public housing and social housing.
Public housing is owned and operated directly by Homes NSW, with rents typically capped at around 25 per cent of household income. Under the Waterloo South redevelopment, future housing will instead be managed by community housing providers, including Link Wentworth, City West Housing and Birribee Housing.
Although tenants will continue to be drawn from the state’s social housing waiting list, management will sit outside government control.
The shift can be understood as largely financial. Community housing providers are eligible for Commonwealth Rental Assistance payments that are not available to Homes NSW, increasing the funding available per tenant.
The NSW Government retains ownership of the land but transfers day-to-day management to non-government providers under long-term agreements.
Geoff Turnbull, spokesperson for REDWatch, says the distinction is often misunderstood.
“Definitionally, we’re losing public housing,” he said. But in terms of people coming off the waiting list, there’s no change. Both systems are drawing from exactly the same pool.”
Turnbull says the policy shift reflects broader funding constraints in public housing, but also notes that many existing tenants support redevelopment due to long-standing maintenance issues in the estate.
“For the bulk of tenants, this can’t happen quick enough,” he said.
What’s next
Planning is now focused on detailed design and management arrangements for the new precinct.
“The mantra is social mix, but what’s been delivered is tenure mix,” Geoff Turnbull said. “The question is how you make that actually work in practice.”
He says key unresolved issues include whether sufficient on-site support services will be provided for residents with complex needs, and how mixed-tenure communities will function day to day.
“This is why we’re focused on the Social Impact Assessment, which is basically about what you need to do to make this model that they’re talking about work.”
As demolition proceeds, the debate is increasingly shifting from whether Waterloo South should be redeveloped to how the new precinct will operate once it is built.
