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How to apply for social housing

To apply for social housing in NSW, you need to go through Housing Pathways.

Housing Pathways is a National Housing Register for housing products and services. It is used by the NSW Department of Communities and Justice (previously FACS), Aboriginal Housing Office, Housing Contact Centre and all participating community housing providers, including Link Wentworth.

Housing Pathways is the way applications for housing assistance, including social housing, are managed in NSW. It is a partnership between the Department of Communities and Justice (previously FACS) and participating community housing providers, including Link Wentworth.

Housing Pathways provides:

• coordinated information about housing assistance
• a single application process
• common eligibility criteria for housing assistance
• a standard assessment process, and
• a single waiting list known as the NSW Housing Register

Application options

You can apply for social housing using one of the ways listed below.

• Apply online using the link: .
• Apply by phone by calling the Housing Contact Centre on 1800 422 322 between 9am–5pm.

Have your Medicare and Centrelink details with you when you call.

The Evidence Requirements Sheet shows you the documents required to support your application. The two main forms you must fill in are the Application for Housing Assistance and the Social Housing Supplement forms.

Extra information

We can contact a third party about your application if you would like. Please fill out a Consent form with the details of the person you’d like us to contact.

If you have a medical condition that affects your housing needs, your health professional will need to complete a Medical Assessment form.

If you have complex needs, you may need to complete an Independent Living Skills form.

After completing an application

If your application is approved, you will be placed on the NSW Housing Register waiting list. You can talk to Link Wentworth or any Housing Pathways provider to find out where your application is up to, or request changes to your application.

Applicants who move to the top of the list receive one or two reasonable offers of suitable housing in locations you have chosen. Reasonable offers that are not accepted may cause you to be removed from the waiting list.

What is Social Housing? 

Social housing is secure, affordable rental housing for people on low incomes. Tenants who live in social housing pay a percentage of their income as rent. Link Wentworth is a registered provider of social housing.

Applications for social housing go through Housing Pathways, which is a centralised system managed by the NSW Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ). There is one waiting list called the NSW Housing Register.

We are one of the many Community Housing Providers participating in Housing Pathways. We can facilitate access to Private Rental Assistance (PRA) products and services by undertaking assessments and referring eligible households for assistance from DCJ to rent PRA products. In the Hornsby, Ryde and Ku-ring-gai local government areas, Link Wentworth delivers PRA products directly on behalf of DCJ.

Applications for social housing in NSW are registered using the Housing Pathways platform.

Who is eligible for Social Housing?

Link Wentworth provides social housing properties to people in NSW who are earning a very low to low income. To be eligible for social housing, you must:

• be a citizen or have permanent residency in Australia, and
• be resident in New South Wales (NSW), and
  establish their identity, and
• have a household income within the income eligibility limits, and
• not own any assets or property which could reasonably be expected to resolve their housing need, and
• be able to sustain a tenancy, without support or with appropriate support in place, and
• if applicable, make repayments of any former debts to a social housing provider, and
• in general, be at least 18 years of age.
• any ongoing medical condition or disability that impacts on the type of housing you or a member of your household need and evidence to support what is required.

How much rent will I pay? 

In most cases, tenants in social housing are eligible for a rent subsidy. This means paying rent based on 25% of your gross household income, plus 100% of the Commonwealth Rent Assistance. .