Regulatory and Quality Systems

Yes, a provider may wish to outsource some aspects of their business. This comes under the category of ‘Affiliated Entities’.

Registered community housing providers can enter into outsourcing arrangements (whether with a group entity or with another entity): Although outsourcing may result in the service provider taking day-to-day managerial responsibility for activities, the community housing provider remains responsible for complying with its obligations under the National Law and for all performance requirements that relate to the outsourced activity.

The provider’s risk management framework should deal with the risks associated with the outsourcing of a material community housing activity.

Outsourcing arrangements should be evidenced by a written, legally binding agreement and should include a clause that allows the primary Registrar access to documentation related to the outsourcing arrangement. The service provider is also required to cooperate with the Registrar in relation to the Registrar carrying out its regulatory functions under the National Law, as if it were a registered community housing provider.

Providers must monitor the ongoing performance of service providers and must maintain control over activities that impact on their compliance under the National Law.

Source: QLD Registrar’s office (22 April 2014)

An organisation can apply to be registered; however the Office of the Registrar is currently prioritising the assessment and registration of currently funded community housing providers. Any eligibility and registration decision is dependent on the individual circumstances of the organisation.

Source: QLD Registrar’s office 22 April 2014

Yes, NRAS funded units should be included in the registration application. However, whilst NRAS properties are not included as part of an eligibility decision, they are considered in tiering decisions. If providers have any questions about where NRAS properties should be listed, please contact the Office of the Registrar.

Source: QLD Registrar’s office 22 April 2014

The metrics are there to provide the Registrar with a basis for being satisfied that the provider will comply with the conditions of registration if it is registered.

Data from providers is used to calculate key performance metrics. In order to ensure regulatory activity is targeted at performance outcomes and requirements where more assurance about capacity to comply or compliance is required thresholds have been established for the majority of these metrics. These are used by analysts as an indicative guide to a provider’s capacity to comply or compliance with the NRC. For the majority of these thresholds ‘tolerance ranges’ have also been set.

The thresholds do not solely determine capacity or compliance. Rather, they provide a transparent level of performance as a starting point against which performance results can be assessed. Performance results that are below a threshold will raise a flag that there may be a performance concern to be addressed in the assessment of the provider’s capacity or ongoing compliance. Providers who do not meet a threshold will have an opportunity to explain or make comments either on their return and / or in subsequent engagement with the analyst. An action plan to meet the performance threshold may be an appropriate piece of evidence to demonstrate capacity. It will depend on the circumstances as in some instances (for example) there may be satisfactory explanations for performance being below a threshold.

Source: CHFA website

Generally developers of scale will be involved in projects that involve them directly contributing to the funding, procurement and project management of new construction and/or major refurbishment of existing properties. Scale is defined in terms of a national market.

Typically refurbishment would involve the planned remodelling, refashioning and/or extensive exterior and interior renovation of a housing estate or development. It may be part of a wider regeneration scheme. It is unlikely this could be accomplished with tenants in occupation. It would not be considered ‘at scale’ if it involved a small number of individual units.

Source: CHFA website

Yes, providers must notify the Primary Registrar of the following occurrences as soon as is practicable after the provider learns of the occurrence and/or within the following specified timeframes:

• a decision to appoint a voluntary administrator or to wind up the provider
• the appointment of a receiver to the provider
• a decision to apply for the cancellation of the provider’s registration (at least 28 days prior to the application)
• a change in the provider’s affairs that could adversely impact its compliance with the relevant community housing legislation (no more than 72 hours after the change)
• a decision to conduct a vote at a meeting on a matter that could affect the provider’s category of or eligibility for registration (at least 28 days prior to the meeting)
• any other occurrence of which the provider is notified by the Primary Registrar.

The Office of the Registrar plans to issue further guidance notes on ‘notifiable events’ soon.

Source: QLD Registrar’s office 22 April 2014

Affiliated entities can be entities related to the registered provider as a result of a corporate relationship (e.g. a related body corporate), as a result of a contractual relationship (e.g. a service provider), or otherwise. The key element is the potential for the relationship or arrangement to have a material effect on the provider’s ability to comply with its obligations under the National Law. Detailed guidance notes on affiliated entities – ‘Affiliated Entity Arrangements’ – can be downloaded from the ‘Publications’ section of the NRSCH website.

Source: QLD Registrar’s office 22 April 2014

Yes, housing providers can lodge an appeal through the appeal tribunal in their primary jurisdiction if they do not agree with the outcome of – their registration application. Please contact the Office of the Registrar for further details regarding the appeals process in Queensland.

Source: QLD Registrar’s office 22 April 2014

Tier 1 and Tier 2 providers are required to complete and submit a Compliance Return to their Primary Registrar via the CHRIS portal every 12 months. Tier 3 providers are required to complete and submit a Compliance Return every 2 years.

All providers will also have regular reporting requirements. Providers are expected to continuously monitor their own compliance and disclose to their Primary Registrar anything that may adversely affect their compliance.

An example of this would be any event or circumstance that may adversely affect the reputation of the Community Housing Sector including any media situations that may arise.

Another example may include the organisation going into voluntary administration or receiving a large amount of housing stock.

Source: QLD Registrar’s office 22 April 2014

Any community housing provider who aims to continue delivering a funded social housing service must apply for registration under the NRSCH within the application period (before 31 December 2014). The Act defines a ‘social housing service’ as the provision of accommodation to individuals for residential use – other than crisis accommodation. This definition applies to Indigenous Community Housing Organisations which have received funding assistance from the Queensland Government for this purpose.

Source: Department of Housing and Public Works (March 2014)

Organisations that choose to opt out of the social housing system will need to come to an agreement with the department about disposing of their funded assets. Funded assets include cash and capital. Community housing providers that choose not to register – or who do not meet registration requirements – must dispose of their funded assets in a way prescribed in the Housing Regulation 2003, by the end of the NRSCH transition period (30 June 2015).

The department will require the provider to return any surplus and any unspent funds, and dispose of any funded capital assets by either:

• Transferring the assets to another organisation that has the capability and intent to achieve registration under the NRSCH (the department will need to approve any transfer)
• Paying the department a sum of money equal to the value of the department’s interest in the asset (paying out the contingent liability)
• Selling the asset.

Fact sheets have been developed to provide information about ending funding arrangements and options for the disposal of community housing assets. To request fact sheets or discuss options, providers should contact Community Housing Provider Management and Development on (07) 3224 5597 or email:

Source: Department of Housing and Public Works (March 2014)

Community housing providers will have new reporting requirements on both the regulatory and funding sides once the new arrangements are embedded. The transition period for the legislation allows all parties to shift their business towards a new way of working. The Queensland Government has committed to significant red tape reduction for providers and to developing a streamlined funding-side reporting framework.

There may be some instances in which both the Registrar and Housing Agency would require the same information from a provider. The Registrar and Housing Agency would be using that information for different purposes. Consistent with the information sharing protocols, the permission of the provider would be sought before any information received as part of the NRSCH is shared with the funder. The intention is to minimise the burden on providers by not having two different formats in which to supply the same information.

Source: CHFA website

There is no set margin of deviation. The Registrar will use a range of factors to consider whether the organisation is viable. The most critical is whether there are sufficient liquid assets to meet liabilities as they fall due. There is a clear legal requirement that organisations are not in a position where they can’t pay their bills (or are ‘trading while insolvent’). Apart from that, Registrar will discuss the reasons for figures outside the range and establish what the organisation is doing to manage the situation. The decision on what should happen next would depend on the evidence that an organisation can provide that the situation is understood and under control and that it is working to improve things.

Source: CHFA website

Yes, a provider may wish to outsource some aspects of their business. This comes under the category of ‘Affiliated Entities’.

Registered community housing providers can enter into outsourcing arrangements (whether with a group entity or with another entity): Although outsourcing may result in the service provider taking day-to-day managerial responsibility for activities, the community housing provider remains responsible for complying with its obligations under the National Law and for all performance requirements that relate to the outsourced activity.

The provider’s risk management framework should deal with the risks associated with the outsourcing of a material community housing activity.

Outsourcing arrangements should be evidenced by a written, legally binding agreement and should include a clause that allows the primary Registrar access to documentation related to the outsourcing arrangement. The service provider is also required to cooperate with the Registrar in relation to the Registrar carrying out its regulatory functions under the National Law, as if it were a registered community housing provider.

Providers must monitor the ongoing performance of service providers and must maintain control over activities that impact on their compliance under the National Law.

Source: QLD Registrar’s office (22 April 2014)

Place renewal can be summarised as involving co-ordinated activity by a range of government and non-government agencies to improve the physical and social conditions in disadvantaged communities; both large and small scale. Typically it means taking a holistic view about what is required rather than investing in for example one element such as constructing new homes. A place renewal scheme may therefore also include a range of support, health and employment type services for example to increase employment opportunities and address social problems.

Community housing providers may play a variety of roles in place renewal and to some extent this will depend on the opportunities presented. Assessment under the NRCSH will recognise the context in which the provider operates and the scope and scale of its business.

A strategic asset management plan is a higher level document which describes how an organisation will manage its housing stock portfolio in the long term and covers strategic and operational matters. This should include

• A long term portfolio strategy
• Manage the full cycle of properties such as procurement, maintenance and disposal
• Local demographic and housing needs analysis including emerging trends
• Future demand for housing and social support needs of its target group
• Efficient use of assets
• Policies and procedures covering maintenance planning and regular property inspections.

An asset management strategy may include:

• a property register to capture property details, maintenance and capital works, and other financial and tenancy information about a site;
• a condition audit of each component building and structure; and
• an asset management plan.

Source: CHFA website

Providers should go to the Queensland Government “Open data” https://data.qld.gov.au and find the housing tab to get access to a range of information; including the following:

1. Waitlist, tenancy, dwelling and financial information on public, community and Indigenous housing programs; and private rental market and home purchase assistance provided
2. Property management of the State’s buildings and assets including modifications and maintenance to state owned social housing
3. Applications for social housing and households assisted including allocations into community housing
4. Information on vacancy management, tenanting turnaround times, and tenancies in government managed social housing

Source: CHFA website

The Registration Return Guide contains information about the approach Registrars will take. This will be geared to the scope and scale of providers’ operations and the services they provide. For example they may have outreach service they publicise in the community, others may hold training, offer grants and/ or organise activities for the wider population, or they may be involved in local partnerships to address housing and social needs. Larger providers may be involved in co-ordinated activity with other partners to improve the physical and social conditions in disadvantaged communities; both large and small scale.

Source: CHFA website

Tier 1 and 2 providers will need to be consistent with ISO31000, but not certified as compliant, and utilise ISO31000 as a guidelines for practice with respect to risk management. Adoption of this standard is not a prerequisite. However, it is anticipated that providers will review ISO31000 and where appropriate, ensure their risk management practices are informed by and align with its guidelines.

Source: CHFA website

Each provider is responsible for their risk management and mitigation. As such the provider needs to demonstrate they are in control on their risk strategies. They can outsource tasks associated with risk identification and management, but cannot outsource the responsibility.

Source: CHFA website

The agreed Information Sharing Guidelines for the NRSCH say in part ” Participating jurisdictions have also agreed the following: Registrars will not share any commercial-in-confidence or Board-in-confidence material without the consent of the provider”.

It is up to the provider to submit sufficient evidence that will demonstrate their capacity to comply with performance outcomes. The registrar will assess this evidence and decide if further information is required. In view of the Information Sharing Guidelines above, full minutes of meetings are required. It is acknowledged that the minutes may contain commercial-in-confidence information and it is suggested that these be marked accordingly. All Registrars and their staff are bound by their government’s Code of Conduct and have agreed to the information sharing guidelines which provide assurance that commercial-in-confidence information will not be shared unless agreed with the provider.

Source: CHFA website

One of the factors the Registrar takes in to account in assessing the financial viability of Tier1 and Tier 2 providers is the length of time the provider’s external auditor has been engaged. Good governance practice suggests that, in order to maintain the necessary independence of the auditor, the same individual should not play a significant role in audit for too long a period of time. This approach is reflected, for example, in the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), which provides that the same individual cannot “play a significant role” in the audit of a listed company for more than five years, unless he or she has taken a break of at least two successive years after the end of the five year period. An individual plays a significant role if they are appointed as an individual auditor, act as such and prepare the audit report. It also includes where and audit firm or Audit Company is appointed, and the person is a registered company auditor acting as a lead auditor or review auditor.

As providers are not listed companies, they are not subject to this statutory auditor rotation requirement. However Registrars consider that the practice of requiring a change in auditor ( if an individual auditor is appointed) or in lead auditor or review auditor ( if an audit firm or audit company is appointed) every five years is a sound one. The five years would begin from the time the auditor was appointed.

Source: CHFA website

80%- governing body meetings held where the membership was at or above the mandated quorum as a percentage of total governing body meetings held.

Source: CHFA website

The metrics are an indicator and where a provider does not meet a threshold this will be a line of enquiry for an analyst to follow up. Generally if the explanation provided is consistent with the operating context and characteristics of the provider (i.e. it meets sufficiently often to undertake its role effectively) it will be considered acceptable.

Source: CHFA website

The provider must have provision in its constitution for all its remaining community housing assets to be transferred to another registered community housing provider in the jurisdiction in which their assets are located, in the event of the provider winding up.

This condition must be met before an organisation can be registered under the National Law.

Source: QLD Registrar’s office 22 April 2014

It is important for community providers to have policies in place specific to the receiving on gifts, which may include donations. A record of the receipt of any gifts and/or donations by way of a register is an open transparent process which may be used as evidence to compliment a policy surrounding the receipt of gifts and/or donations. A record of monetary donations would also be required under financial reporting requirements. Additionally financial reporting includes in-kind donations of capital nature.

Source: CHFA website

Section 15 of the National Law states that the following matters must be notified:

1. a decision to appoint a voluntary administrator to the provider or a decision to wind-up the provider- as soon as practicable after the decision,
2. the appointment of a receiver to the provider as soon as practicable after the provider learns of the appointment
3. a decision to apply for the cancellation of the provider’s registration as soon as practicable after the decision and at least 28 days before the application is made,
4. a decision to conduct a vote at a meeting on a matter that could affect the provider’s eligibility to be registered or its category of registration as soon as practicable after the decision and at least 28 days before the meeting is held
5. a change on the affairs of the provider that may have an adverse impact on its compliance with the community housing legislation before or no later than 72 hours after the change. This clause, coupled with 5(d) of the Regulatory Code: ‘ maintaining the reputation of the community housing sector” is what the questions refers to in particular. It is a matter for judgement. If in any doubt, the provider should err on the side of caution and advise the Registrar that there may be an issue.
6. any other occurrence notified in writing to the provider by the Primary Registrar within the time specified in that notice.

A failure to notify the Primary Registrar would be a breach of the conditions of registration. It is in the provider’s interest to work with their Primary Registrar. If a provider notified the Registrar as soon as possible the Registrar and provider could work together to ensure the best possible outcome for all tenants, the provider and the sector in general. However if a provider were to intentionally or accidently fail to notify the Primary Registrar this could lead to enforcement action depending on the severity of the outcome of the incident.

Source: CHFA website

Bad debt due to tenant damage is not collected in CHRIS. However organisations are able to record comments/ explanatory notes in CHRIS (6.1) about vacant un-tenantable units that require maintenance, caused by tenant damage, to a tenantable standard before they can be relet.

Source: CHFA website

The Registrar doesn’t determine providers’ rent arrears – the provider does. In terms of performance it is up to the provider to demonstrate they have a process in place for monitoring/responding/preventing arrears that is appropriate to the scope and scale of their operations and the characteristics of their client group.

Rent arrears (i.e. rent outstanding) are measured as a % of a total amount of potential rental income. The threshold percentage is <2.5%. If the provider does not meet the threshold they have the opportunity to explain the reasons and/or the action they are taking to address this.

Source: CHFA website

It is up to each provider to determine when rent arrears become bad debt. A provider should have policies and procedures in place to follow.
The rental bad debt management metric is calculated as the value of bad debts written off during the financial year/ total rent revenue for the financial year. The FPR data is produced from annual edited financial statements so it is not expected that the frequency of write offs (e.g. every 6 weeks VS 12 month) would have an impact on this metric as only annual financial data is used. If the provider is concerned, they will need to talk with their analyst, or record their issues within the comments section of Performance Outcome 6 in CHRIS

Source: CHFA website

If provider is concerned, there is space available in the comments section of each performance outcome in CHRIS to record their issues or explanatory notes for amber/red metrics results. The threshold will remain the same, however the provider has the opportunity to record their concerns, and this will be taken into account by their assigned analyst

Source: CHFA website

Considered in the context of the organisation; The Registrar will not dictate how a provider is to run their business so if a provider decides a low return is acceptable and the provider remains financially viable and can demonstrate compliance with the regulatory code this would be considered as part of the assessment

Source: CHFA website

The FPR is separate and is saved separately for the financial analysts to undertake their enquiries. As such, it will not be used to calculate data values for different Performance Outcomes other than financially calculated ratios.

Source: CHFA website

There is no set margin of deviation. The Registrar will use a range of factors to consider whether the organisation is viable. The most critical is whether there are sufficient liquid assets to meet liabilities as they fall due. There is a clear legal requirement that organisations are not in a position where they can’t pay their bills (or are ‘trading while insolvent’). Apart from that, Registrar will discuss the reasons for figures outside the range and establish what the organisation is doing to manage the situation. The decision on what should happen next would depend on the evidence that an organisation can provide that the situation is understood and under control and that it is working to improve things.

Source: CHFA website

The items in the data set such as the tenancy turnover will consider the historical data and trends (once system has that historical data). The accumulation of historical data over time will build the data sets for trend analysis.

Source: CHFA website

The Registrar’s requirements are not prescriptive. Community housing providers have different business models and this will determine what drives its growth. Assumptions of drivers of growth may include for example to the number of new community housing units (owned and managed), the community housing units mix, number of FTE staff, interest rate, its rental income, specific inflation rates for income and operating expenses, etc.

Source: CHFA website

The approach to determine the proportion of operating costs will be entirely up to the community housing provider and it is assumed based on what each part of their business ‘ uses or consumes’. It is recognised that apportionment may in some circumstances be based on estimates where costs are not directly attributable to one part of the business. The approach chosen by the community housing provider should be based on a sound rational decision and consistent year after year.

Source: CHFA website

The analyst assesses the information submitted in the ETF to determine the community housing providers’ eligibility and provisional tier. The assessment process takes two weeks following which the analyst will contact the provider regarding their provisional tiering level and make available the applicable Application for Registration through CHRIS. Depending on the type and amount of information submitted by the provider, the primary analyst assigned to the provider may be in contact with the provider during this two week time period.

Source: QLD Registrar’s office 22 April 2014

Once the Application for Registration is submitted in CHRIS, the analyst undertakes an evidence gap analysis. This gap analysis will usually take no longer than two weeks. Upon completion of this gap analysis, a provider may receive an email and phone call from their analyst requesting further information be submitted.

Once the analyst is confident they have received a complete submission, the analyst will begin assessing the application for registration. An analyst will spend four weeks undertaking the analysis and determining whether or not a provider has the capacity to comply. An analyst may provide recommendations to assist the provider to comply prior to their first scheduled compliance return. These recommendations will be included in a draft determination sent to providers, and providers will have the opportunity to comment on the draft determination prior to this determination being finalised.

The provider may accept the recommendations or ask for additional detail on the recommendations. After this, the Registrar will make a final registration decision, which may be subject to appeal by the provider.

Providers will be offered 14 days to respond to the draft determination before the process is complete. In some cases, additional time may be provided for the provider to provide additional evidence to support their capacity to comply.

Source: QLD Registrar’s office 22 April 2014

Providers are expected to complete their applications within the six week timeframe. However, in exceptional circumstances, eg prolonged absence of the key staff member, an extension may be considered. If a provider wishes to request an extension, this extension request must be made in writing using the email address . The Registrar will make a determination to approve or reject an extension request dependent on each individual situation.

Source: QLD Registrar’s office 22 April 2014

A provider may choose to use suitable alterative wording, rather than the above example. It is the responsibility of providers who choose to draft alternative wording to ensure that the wording is legally consistent with the Act and the National Law. Providers must seek appropriate and sound legal advice. This will be provided to the Registrar to demonstrate that the alternative wording is appropriate and compliant with this condition of registration.

The Registrar will examine the evidence and reach a final decision, which may or may not concur with the legal advice sought by the provider.

Your constitution or the Legislation that your organisation is established through will identify the process that needs to be followed to change your constitution. The process is most likely to require the support of your members. You may want to consider these processes so any changes are ready to be presented to your members whilst they are gathered for you Annual General Meeting.

At the ETF stage, not having an appropriate wind up clause is not a barrier to progressing an application to the next stage. Providers can progress to the application for registration stage, with the understanding that if a change to the constitution or equivalent document is required, it can be processed through this time.

The organisation must have the relevant clause, or have demonstrated that the clause is legally consistent before a registration decision can be made. Please note that you do not have to delay your application for registration until your constitution is amended, it just needs to be completed before a registration decision can be made.

If you have any questions please contact your Analyst, or by emailing the Registrar’s mailbox at or seek information from Q Shelter through QS Connect on 07 3831 5900 or via our contact form here