5145 (2026). Hon Kieran McAnulty to the Associate Minister of Housing

5145 (2026). Hon Kieran McAnulty to the Associate Minister of Housing: Further to WPQ 611 (2026), what measures are in place to ensure long-term tenancy sustainment for households placed into housing through the Housing First programme, and what proportion of households placed in the past three years remain in stable housing?

Hon Tama Potaka: The Housing First programme is structured and resourced to fund specialised providers to work with households experiencing chronic homelessness, sleeping rough or in other places not designed for habitation (such as cars), for at least 12 months, and which have high or complex support needs that require intensive ongoing support. Once people are in the programme, they're provided with tailored support to help them deal with any underlying complex issues that may have led to their homelessness. The support continues as they are placed into stable housing. The aim is to help them stay housed and achieve their goals. As at the end of December 2025, 89% of households housed by Housing First in the past three years remained housed independent of their service status, and 3% have exited housing placement in addition to having graduated from the programme.