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REDWatch concerns on final Waterloo South People and Place Plan
In June 2024 Homes NSW sought feedback on its People and Place Plan. In the lead up to the rezoning Homes have now released their final version of its Waterloo South People and Place Plan (PDF 2.86MB). It raises a number of recommendations that Homes NSW and the Consortium / Delivery Partner are expected to implement that people should also be aware of heading into discussions with Stockland. Some of the recommendations have been changed since the consultation draft. You can see details of these changes on the REDWatch website at People and Place Recommendations 2025 Changes from 2024 Draft.
People and Place is not a whole of Waterloo Social Housing Plan
The People and Place plan still relates directly to the people of Waterloo South, it is linked to the redevelopment and the Consortium not to the Waterloo Estate or the wider Waterloo public housing community. This is not a Waterloo Estate Management Plan which REDWatch has argued for.
The plan is only a high-level outline mapping out recommendations and suggesting who will lead and support the implementation of recommendations.
It does not deal with the disparity between those people living with Homes NSW as a landlord and those who will be in the new estate where Community Housing Providers are expected to deliver much better supports because they get Commonwealth Rental Assistance on top of rents. It does not deal with how these two communities will work together on common concerns.
This plan plays only lip service to the Waterloo Human Services Plan which is about trying to tackle tenants existing problems rather than those that may be solved somehow in the future. There is still much work that will need to be done to produce a human service plan that deals with the service issues facing existing tenants, the additional service needs that will arise from relocations and the redevelopment.
Homes NSW retreats on some earlier undertakings
REDWatch has made a comparison between the People and Place draft from 2024 and the final 2025 recommendations. You can see that comparison on the REDWatch website at People and Place Recommendations 2025 Changes from 2024 Draft.
While four new recommendations have been added it appears from that comparison that Homes NSW is stepping back from some of the earlier recommendations. Gone are recommendations relating to access to affordable health care and the need for low cost or free options for community spaces and shops.
Some other recommendations are now to “explore” and “explore opportunities” rather than provide ensure or deliver. For example, “incorporate public toilets” has now become “to explore the provision of” (6.11). Terms like codesign and “report back” disappear while “increase employment” becomes ““provide capacity building to enhance skills and increase employment”. You can see all the changes in the comparison document.
There has also been some simplification in who is responsible for delivering on actions. The main change is that the RP (Renewal Partner) is responsible and A/CHPs have been removed. Given that Homes NSW and the Delivery Partner are down as leads on most of the recommendations, the question for Homes NSW and the consortium is now how are you going to deliver on these recommendations.
Many of the recommendations respond to issues that may be picked up in the Social Impact Assessment with potentially more fleshed out recommendations finding their way into the Social Impact Management Plan.
People and Place has more accurate comparisons of Waterloo South with Sydney and NSW
There has been some improvement in the report narrative with the inclusion of modern Aboriginal history. Still missing are the 500+ public housing units in the Waterloo Conservation area that are a legacy of the Green Bans that stopped the expansion of the Waterloo estate in the 1970s and lead to all the conservation area renovations and infill housing of the 1980s and 1990s. This is strange as the LAHC History project did include this aspect and some of the conservation area tenants abut Waterloo South and will be as impacted as others in the Estate. One suspects that the names of those central to the community stopping the estate expansion, like Marg Barry, will not be considered for new place and building names.
One big change requested by REDWatch was for People and Place to use statistics that better reflect the Waterloo South area being redeveloped. REDWatch welcomes Homes NSW’s change from using Waterloo wide figures to figures that reflect the four Level 1 statistical areas (SA1s) covering the area being developed. Whiles these SA1s still contain some private residents the dilution effect is no where near that when public housing tenants’ profile is impacted by the surrounding private community.
The results are especially noticeable in Pillar 4 on health and wellbeing where for example Waterloo wide no people with “long term health condition(s)” was 65% Waterloo wide but in the four SA1 the result was much less at 39%. Having a “mental health condition” Waterloo wide was 9% but it is 19% in Waterloo South. The figures now show the expected differences when compared to City of Sydney and NSW figures. The recreated comparison is below.
|
Type of long-term health condition |
Waterloo South |
Waterloo Suburb |
City of Sydney |
NSW |
|
Arthritis |
10% |
5% |
4% |
8% |
|
Asthma |
12% |
7% |
7% |
8% |
|
Cancer (including remission) |
3% |
2% |
2% |
3% |
|
Dementia (including Alzheimer’s) |
1% |
less than 1% |
less than 1% |
less than 1% |
|
Diabetes (excluding gestational diabetes) |
7% |
3% |
2% |
5% |
|
Heart disease (including heart attack or angina) |
4% |
2% |
2% |
4% |
|
Lung condition (including COPD or emphysema) |
4% |
less than 1% |
less than 1% |
1% |
|
Mental health condition (including depression or anxiety) |
19% |
9% |
9% |
8% |
|
Stroke |
2% |
less than 1% |
less than 1% |
less than 1% |
|
Any other long-term health condition(s) |
12% |
8% |
67% |
8% |
|
No long-term health condition(s) |
39% |
65% |
67% |
60% |
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census data - Waterloo South People and Place
Waterloo South - using SA1s (11703164718, 11703164709, 11703164702 and 11703164710)
Waterloo Suburb – From 2024 Draft People and Place
The statistics now better reflect what we know about public housing tenants in Waterloo but it has not been responded to by Homes NSW who have removed the goal of “enabling the local community to access affordable health services” in the 2024 from the final plan entirely!
Using SA1 data also changes significantly the employment profile from that of wider Waterloo as many tenants in social housing are not employed and the private housing in the area has greater impact - the report uses "tenants in" to refer to everyone. In order the five most common industries that people in the four SA1s covering Waterloo South (WS) compared to Waterloo suburb (W) are: "professional, science and tech services (242WS 942W), "accommodation and food services" (171WS 327W); "health care and social assistance" (160WS n/a W); "retail trade" (153WS 337W); "education and training" 132WS n/a W). Waterloo wide "finance and Insurance" (2nd with 526) and construction (third with 475).
Country of birth changes are also shown now on SA1 data and grouped by region rather than the top countries.
Conclusion
There have been some improvements in the information and demographics in the report but it is not a plan for the whole of Waterloo social housing just for the redevelopment.
On looking at the People and Place Plan it looks to REDWatch like Homes NSW is now pulling back from some of its commitments now it has entered arrangements with the Stockland consortium. We have provided the recommendation comparison link above so you can make your own judgement.
Community members and agencies are encouraged to restate their concerns about these changes during the Concept Plan Consultation and when raising issues about the potential social impact of the redevelopment and what needs to be done in the Social Impact Management Plan.
REDWatch 20 October 2025
