SINGAPORE: Construction will start within months on a new youth accommodation hub on the main arterial road, which the state government has called a “game-changer”.
Housing Minister Sam O’Connor on Tuesday announced Queensland’s eighth “youth foyer” facility would be built on a 4400sq m site on James St in Harristown.
The project, which has been funded in partnership with the federal government, will create more than 40 new units for young people aged between 16-25 either experiencing or vulnerable to homelessness.
The Toowoomba parcel, which was bought by the state government in 2024 for $947,000, is just minutes from the new Officeworks precinct, Clifford Gardens and close to bus stops.
Mr O’Connor said all tenants would need to be “earning or learning”, receiving 24-7 support from the successful tenderer on-site and paying 25 per cent of their income for their place.
“For the many vulnerable young people this will be an absolute lifeline and is part of our plan to deliver eight foyers across our state,” he said.
“There’ll be communal spaces and office spaces for the service that will contract to run the foyer, and then the rest will be the apartments.
“We’ll have work under way early next year and we hope to be delivering it by the final quarter of 2028.
“The young people here will pay just 25 per cent of whatever they’re earning in rent, which is a pretty good deal.”
Youth foyers in Australia are the brainchild of the Foyer Foundation, a national not-for-profit that has accredited two dozen sites across Australia worth more than 500 units.
New youth foyers will be delivered in Brisbane, Ipswich, Moreton Bay, the Sunshine Coast, Hervey Bay, Rockhampton and Cairns, on top of existing projects in Townsville, Logan and the Gold Coast.
Mr O’Connor said some tenants would have possibly been involved with the justice system, but stressed the project was for housing.
“It’s possible, and probably more likely that they’ve gone through the child safety system or some other tragic circumstance, and that’s absolutely a part of having the 24-7 support on site,” he said.
“It’s a very different thing to a Youth Justice facility though.
“If you’ve got a young person that’s at the point of earning or learning, they’re at a very different part of their journey and that’s who this is targeted at.”
Federal Housing Minister Clare O’Neil said the funding for the project would come through the Labor government’s Housing Australia Future Fund.
“The Albanese government has brought the commonwealth back into building more homes for those doing it toughest, and the Toowoomba Foyer is a great example of that – giving younger people the support they need in a crisis,” she said.