Annual compliance assessments

This approach aims to encourage early identification of risk and better monitoring and mitigation of potential harms, as well as foster greater capacity building in the sector through ongoing improvement efforts.

The possible compliance outcomes for each performance standard are:

• Met – the registered agency has demonstrated that it complies with the performance standard.
• Capacity to meet – the registered agency has demonstrated that it mostly meets the performance standard with some identified areas for improvement.
• Did not meet – the registered agency did not demonstrate that it meets the performance standard with a number of areas identified for improvement.
• N/A – the performance standard is not applicable to the registered agency. For example, where a newly registered agency is in the construction phase and is not yet delivering rental housing services. For these registered agencies, Performance Standard 1 Tenant and housing services, Performance Standard 2 Housing assets and Performance Standard 3 Community engagement would not apply.

In addition to being evaluated for compliance with performance standards, registered agencies are also assessed annually against continuous improvement criteria. This includes assessing the registered agency's progress and ongoing improvement against Key Performance Measures (KPMs) and other measures outlined in its annual business plan.

Annual compliance assessment outcomes 2021-22

In the 2021-22 reporting year, the community housing sector was assessed to have achieved a high level of compliance with the Act and performance standards.

Of the 42 registered agencies in 2021‑22:

• Forty-one (97.6%) were assessed as meeting or having the capacity to meet compliance with all performance standards.
• Forty (95.2%) were assessed as meeting all performance standards.
• Five are not yet delivering housing services and received a N/A result for Tenant and housing services, Housing assets, and Community engagement.

The following table sets out the overall results against each performance standard for 2021-22:

Further detail of individual registered agency outcomes is in Appendix 1.

For registered agencies that received a ‘capacity to meet’ assessment, the issues identified were limited to one aspect of a performance standard, for example, complaints management.

A registered agency assessed as not meeting certain performance standards is subject to close regulatory engagement to drive improvement and to identify if further regulatory intervention is required.

The following table summarises outcomes of compliance assessments for the past three years:

Regulatory action items

The Housing Registrar identifies areas of non-compliance, performance issues, and opportunities for continuous improvement, and assigns corresponding regulatory action items.

The Housing Registrar uses a regulatory action plan to continuously monitor and assesses progress against these items.

A regulatory action plan may be developed in response to:

• an annual compliance assessment
• a registration
• ongoing monitoring activities, including notifications from a registered agency of an event that may impact its ability to meet performance standards (reportable event)
• a complaint referred to the Housing Registrar which may include an investigation or inspection.

The table below summarises the key areas identified for improvement for 2021-22:

The number of regulatory action items assigned in the 2021-22 annual compliance assessments (57) remained consistent with the previous year (59).

Fourteen regulatory action items relate to improving management structures, systems, policies and procedures to ensure the operational needs of its business can be met under Performance Standard 6 Management.

Of these, eight action items require registered agencies to implement a policy review schedule. Another six action items require registered agencies to provide evidence of new systems implemented to update the Public Register within legislated timeframes.

Thirteen action items relate to improvements in complaints management under Performance Standard 1 Tenant and housing services, a result consistent with the previous year.

The focus of these action items is ensuring that complaints systems are operating efficiently and are supported by positive complaints cultures. This includes ensuring complaints policies are accessible, provide clear avenues for appeals and referrals, and assist tenants and prospective tenants to make complaints to improve services.

The 93 regulatory action items arising from new registrations in 2021‑22 are focused on the establishment and provision of information relating to governance and risk management. This includes providing final approved versions of policies, risk registers and board terms of reference, making tenant policies readily available through a website and reporting on the progress of construction of new developments.

The 58% increase from the previous year in action items from new registrations can be attributed to more non-operational entities achieving registration, which are required to demonstrate compliance regarding future operations.