Home Stretch WA - Information about the Home Stretch WA Housing Allowance

A young person participating in Home Stretch WA can access a Housing Allowance payment to assist them to afford a broader range of living arrangements.

The Housing Allowance is a fortnightly payment, paid directly to the young person’s landlord or real estate agent, or a Home Stretch WA host under a Living Together Agreement.

The payment aims to supplement payments made directly by a young person accessing Home Stretch WA towards their rent.

The payments are administered by the Department of Communities and young people must be actively receiving support from a Home Stretch WA service provider.

Home Stretch WA Fact Sheet for Landlords and Real Estate Agents (PDF, 274KB)

Housing Allowance payments are deemed taxable income and may impact a recipient’s other payments. The payment recipient is responsible to check whether receiving this payment will have any impact on any other payments, including their individual tax liability.

The Home Stretch WA Housing Allowance aims to support a broader range of living arrangements for young people. Supportive adults who are not approved carers and can offer safe accommodation to a young person can become Home Stretch WA hosts, and receive the Housing Allowance through a Host Home - Living Together Agreement.

Applications for Housing Allowance are facilitated by the young person’s Home Stretch WA Transition Coach. A Transition Coach is a youth worker employed by a Home Stretch WA service provider, who provides individualised supports to Home Stretch WA participant.

Payment recipients must have an account with Eftsure. 

Department of Communities Home Stretch WA Services Team can provide support to help set up an account.

Home Stretch WA – Guide to Eftsure Process (PDF, 186KB)

If you have any questions email homestretchserviceteam@communities.wa.gov.au.

All young people accessing Home Stretch WA must engage with their Transition Coach. Transition Coaches provide young people with a range of support to help them transition to adulthood. This includes building skills to live independently and may include help to build skills to manage the responsibilities of a tenancy or other living arrangement.

Home Stretch WA service providers are required to regularly review the living arrangements of the young people they are supporting.

Should any concerns or issues arise, the Home Stretch WA service provider and Transition Coach are the designated contact available to raise any concerns.

You can also email homestretchserviceteam@communities.wa.gov.au for guidance on how to contact your Home Stretch WA service provider.

Many young people leaving care will choose to return to their biological families to explore those relationships and reconnect.

The Home Stretch WA program provides structured support to young people to explore and make safe connections with their biological family but cannot provide any direct financial payment or support to living arrangements with the family members from whom they were removed.

There are a few living arrangements that have been deemed ineligible for a Housing Allowance because of existing policy or the perceived risks posed to a young person. Living arrangements that are ineligible include:

• Housing options identified as unsafe during the application process based on the discretion of the Home Stretch WA provider. Where possible attempts should be made to support a young person to make the living arrangement safe and stable through providing support and structure.
• Emergency or short-term options.
• Housing that is already subsidised, including funded National Housing and Homelessness Agreement housing and homelessness services, Public Housing and Community Housing, or other specialist youth housing and homelessness programs.
• Arrangements that require payment to a family member who has been an open case with the Department of Communities.