Who is the HAC Overview

The Housing Appeals Committee (HAC) is an independent agency that reviews certain decisions made by staff of Housing NSW and Community Housing Providers.

Secretariat

The staff of the Secretariat provide administrative support to the Committee and they are the first point of contact for clients, providing information about the appeals process. The staff do not review the appeals, this is the role of the Committee Members.

HAC Secretariat

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Executive Chairperson

The Executive Chairperson is responsible for the overall management of the Housing Appeals Committee and will also sit as Presiding Chair on some hearings. The Executive Chairperson also pursues the wider goals of the Housing Appeals Committee to improve decision making by housing providers through training, policy and procedural comment and discussions with management and staff of housing providers.

Lynden Esdaile - Executive Chairperson

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Presiding Chairs

• At each hearing there will be two or three members present with one being the designated Presiding Chair.
• The Presiding Chair will be responsible for preparation of the appeal report and letters following the hearing and will generally lead the discussion in the hearing. Decisions are made by consensus of all members at the hearing.
• Any difficulty in coming to a final decision will involve the Executive Chairperson.

Lynn Houlahan, Lynden Esdaile, Bronwyn Richards, Tacye Bowen

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Committee Members

There are currently 15 Housing Appeals Committee members. They have a range of qualifications including:

• knowledge and skills in housing, community services, health, law, psychology or social welfare;
• understanding of issues relating to the delivery of service to people with special needs and particular communities; and
• knowledge of social housing policies.

The diversity of skills and experience of Committee members enables the Committee to provide clients with an impartial, understanding, independent assessment both of their housing needs and of the appropriateness and fairness of the decision made by the Housing Provider.

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