So is the correct term DHA properties??? I'm not into the nuances of Defence. I was trying for a general / colloquial meaning/term for defence forces accommodation (Army, Navy, Air Force, ADF, etc.) that could be vacated/already vacant and quickly made ready for quarantine and near an adequate hospital......
Some time ago (decades now) the decision was made that accomodation should be out-sourced to the private sector as much as possible as that would reduce the required Defence head count. Instead Defence would either sell existing off-base housing they owned. It would be sold with a lease of anywhere from 6 to 20 years (in some cases) together with options for extension. Defence would pay most outgoings & there was (in some of the contracts I've seen) an annual allowance included for maintenance as well as a 'tenancy change' allowance when a family moved out to another location. More recently DHA have charged up to 16% of the gross rent to 'manage' the leased properties for the investors (covers basic maintenance not major like roof replacement etc).
In very remote locations there is a lot of on-base accomodation - but no alternative to move Defence personnel off-base to empty it for 'quarantine'.
In accessible locations in Melbourne or Sydney - Defence started selling off (sub-dividing) land at existing bases. Some bases were shut totally and became developer's dreams. This process was re-thought when one such part sale of land from an on-going base saw the developer's Annual Report mention they'd made 8 times the cost of acquiring the land from Defence.
Re-thought but not stopped.
Equally though at one site in Randwick, Defence decided to try and get the development profits for themselves and drew up plans for an 8 storey high rise on top of their diesel storage tanks & 'breakdowns' sheds. As it is Federal Land it only was found out by accident when during a committee hearing on Defence spending of internal (Australian travel) costs they were asked about why there'd been dozens of one or two day trips to Sydney over the previous 3 months including overnight accomodation at an expensive Sydney hotel. Subsequently I pointed out that it could not be built as it was directly under the flight path for the E/W runway & prohibited by the 'Benelong Funnel' legislation introduced by John Howard.
Using existing on base housing
There may be some locations where the housing is modern, and 'safe' from a virus perspective. Most would not come close.
Stock of DHA housing (under lease predominantly) - mostly off-base
As this excerpt from a Parliamentary report details:
The majority of DHA’s properties are detached three or four bedroom service residences, known as the Members with Dependants (MWD) portfolio. However, DHA noted in 2015 that ‘46 percent of [defence] families we accommodate have no children and 18 per cent have one child under four years of age’. Around 500 are 5+ bedroom.
Of the 18,024 properties managed by DHA as of 30 June 2020 - 16,386 were Rent Band Choice housing (RBCH). These properties are generally inner city apartments and townhouses.
"
At a minimum, service residences generally comprise three to four bedrooms, separate lounge and dining areas, kitchen, laundry, bathroom, ensuite, single garage (or carport in the Northern Territory) and a 35 square metre backyard (or 25 square metre backyard in Sydney). Where newly constructed, service residences must achieve a minimum six star energy efficiency rating (EER)."
So, not really hundreds let alone thousands of suitable Defence accomodation rooms in existance let alone available.
Most recent multi-unit development - "
Comprising 152 apartments offering a mix of studio, one, two and three bedroom apartments and terraces, Arkadia Apartments brings spacious living to life". Located in Alexandria (Sydney) = off-base.
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Perhaps this is why the Federal Govt pushed the quarantine onto the States - they had nothing available and would require some major spending. Remember this was back when the Fed Govt still held out hope of a surplus.
BTW - since the late 1970s the various Federal Govts closed down (& sold off) virtually all previously existing Federal quarantine facilities.
The last (I think) was at North Head (Sydney) when a deal was done with Bob Carr leading into an expected tight State Election. In exchange for not honouring his commitment (in writing) to his electorate over the Randwick Defence Site (to this day believed to be the most contaminated site in Australia as per Federal Inquiry complete with Agent Orange dumped around 18 locations within it - evidence from storemen, mustard gas etc etc) then the Feds gave him North Head.