A government that allegedly left public housing without working toilets, showers, cooking facilities and safe drinking water has been taken to court.
The class action centred on remote Indigenous communities alleges thousands of residents have been living in substandard rental properties for years, with repair requests routinely ignored or poorly fixed by West Australian authorities.
"For too long, Aboriginal people living in remote communities have been expected to 'put up and shut up' in relation to their housing rights," Slater and Gordon senior lawyer Gemma Leigh-Dodds said on Thursday.
"By filing this class action on their behalf, we are demanding better housing justice for Aboriginal Western Australians (sic)."
The class action was filed this week in the Federal Court against the WA government and its housing authority.
The case alleges many property defects have left tenants vulnerable to health problems while a lack of adequate perimeter fencing and holes in walls and doors resulted in venomous snakes, large cattle and other animals entering premises.
Almost 200 public housing properties in several remote communities across the state were surveyed earlier in 2024.
Many houses were allegedly found without working toilets, showers, cooking facilities, lights, safe drinking water, doors, functioning locks or reliable electricity.
Many people are paying hundreds of dollars a fortnight to live in houses "that don't provide even the most basic needs," Ms Leigh-Dodds said.
She hoped the class action would establish that the supply of safe drinking water was a basic legal entitlement for every tenant in Australia.
The action will automatically include thousands of tenants living in remote areas including the East Kimberley and Pilbara between 2010 and 2024, unless they opt out.
The group members are seeking financial compensation for rent paid and distress allegedly caused by housing-related concerns.
Also sought is repayment of expenses incurred to rectify housing defects, such as buying and installing air conditioners and door locks, according to a statement from the class action lawyers.
The WA government, which manages housing for 122 remote Indigenous communities across the state, was contacted for comment.
Premier Roger Cook and Treasurer Rita Saffioti are expected to address the issue later on Thursday.
The WA Department of Communities declined to comment on the court case but pointed to a recently announced $350 million fund to upgrade essential services and undertake high-priority refurbishments and upgrades of houses in remote areas.
"There is also a significant amount of funding for maintenance and community housing grants available to remote Aboriginal communities through the state government," a spokesperson said.
Maintenance of remote housing investments has been top of mind in the housing sector after the High Court ruled last November that Indigenous people living in dilapidated remote housing were entitled to compensation.
A $4 billion fund was unveiled in March by the federal and Northern Territory governments aims to build up to 270 homes a year and halve overcrowding in the NT.
