The Housing and Accommodation Support Initiative (HASI) Plus is a statewide high intensity transitional program for people with severe mental illness and significant difficulties managing day to day living. In HASI Plus, participants have access to a lot of flexible supports which are especially designed to help them recover and then transition to a more independent life in the community. HASI Plus is part of a suite of community-based psychosocial programs for adults called the NSW Mental Health Community Living Programs.
HASI Plus support helps people to achieve their own, unique goals. The types of support people receive depends on their individual needs and what they want to achieve. As some examples, people in the program often get help with:
HASI Plus typically provides between 16-24 hours of support a day. Like the types of support, the amount of HASI Plus support you can receive is flexible. The amount of support can change to meet your needs.
Some people might need only a few hours of support a week while some HASI Plus consumers might get more than 5 hours of support a day.
Once accepted into the program, participants move into one of eight community accommodation sites. These are either self-contained apartments or modified houses with shared cooking facilities and living areas.
While anyone in NSW can apply for HASI Plus the accommodation sites are at a limited number of locations:
Everyone in the HASI Plus program signs a tenancy agreement and is responsible for their accommodation. You will be supported to understand your tenancy rights and responsibilities, build your skills in managing the tenancy and to resolve any problems that arise. These will be important skills to help you transition to more independent living after the program.
HASI Plus participants get a range of supports to build independence in daily life, designed around you, your goals and recovery. This could include daily living skills like shopping, looking after finances, cooking or catching public transport.
The program also includes intense clinical supports to help with your rehabilitation and recovery, and address any other health needs.
The Ministry recently commissioned the Social Policy Research Centre (SPRC) at UNSW to evaluate the HASI Plus program. The 3-year longitudinal evaluation ran from August 2018 to August 2021. The evaluation results show that HASI Plus is making a real difference to people's lives. Consumers and their families liked HASI Plus. They reported a wide range of positive experiences and overwhelming support for the safe and secure housing and intensive onsite supports. There is evidence that the programs help people to reduce hospitalisations because of their mental health and that it supports people to transition to living in the community. We are very proud of the achievements of HASI Plus.
Anyone in NSW can apply for HASI Plus if they are:
Yes. HASI Plus prioritises people who cannot be discharged from hospital or another institution without this sort of support.
Ask your support worker or clinician for more information about the program and, if suitable, how they might be able to refer you.
If English is not your first language, you can use the telephone Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National).
This service free and is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call TIS on 131 450.
You can also prebook an interpreter online using the TIS National Pre booked phone interpreter form.
