Guidelines for field staff to assist people living in ... - Housing NSW

• Mandatory access orders for Department of Housing staff. Such a DoH visitmay involve a locksmith to gain entry, and are an opportunity for a coordinatedagency approach with the involvement of other agencyprofessionals willing to provide assessments.Orders available to public housing through the CTTT are not as a matter of courseavailable to the properties managed by organisations funded by the Office ofCommunity Housing. However, Access Orders can be obtained by the Office ofCommunity Housing to perform inspections to determine whether a breach of theAgreement has occurred because of property neglect.In addition, there are major strategic level policy initiatives, led by DoH, intended toincrease the quality of service to social housing tenants with mental health issues.Joint Guarantee of ServiceThe Joint Guarantee of Service (JGOS) supports local forums for the co-ordination ofdelivery of services to people living in social housing that have mental healthproblems and disorders with ongoing support needs. For further information onJGOS in your region, please contact your local DoH office.NSW Housing and Human Services Accord (the Accord)The Accord establishes a partnership approach across NSW Government humanservices for the provision of housing, health, welfare and other social supportservices. The Accord’s aim is to ensure the most vulnerable and disadvantaged inour community receive reliable housing and support services, reducing the need forcrisis intervention. The Accord sets out service principles, agency roles andcommitments to plan for specific agreements regarding client groups.NSW Fire BrigadeNSW Fire Brigade has the right to enter buildings where it is believed that there is a fire,or where it is believed that a fire has occurred. They can take possession of the buildingand can take any procedures to render the situation safe. However, the Fire Brigadecannot inspect residential premises, even if they suspect them to be a fire hazard,without permission.The NSW Fire Brigade does not have official procedures for dealing with a squalorsituation. This means that it is up to the individual officer to determine action to mitigatethe problem. From 1 May, 2006 it became compulsory for all residential accommodationin NSW to have al least one working smoke alarm.44