Houses being built as part of the $2.1 billion Remote Housing Program are built to last half the lifespan of a typical home, the Department of Territory Families, Housing and Communities has confirmed, as concerns grow that the government is cutting corners to meet a federal deadline to access funding.

The dwellings being constructed in remote communities meet a design life of 30 years, which is half of the average home lifespan of 50 to 60 years required by the Australian Building Codes Board.

The housing program—which comes with a $550 million contribution from the federal government over five years if targets are met—is dependent on the NT Government’s ability to build or recondition 2,000 bedrooms in remote communities by June next year.

The Territory Government, which was estimated not to be able to meet the deadlines has claimed it has since fast-tracked housing construction to meet the required number of constructed bedrooms.

But that has Aboriginal Housing NT chief executive Skye Thomson worried about the quality of dwellings being delivered.

“The surge in delivery was only possible because the government switched to building pre-fabricated houses,” Ms Thomson told the ABC.

“This is a concern. We want to have sustainable housing for remote communities. Rolling out these demountable-type houses will be problematic in the long-term.”

There were also concerns that Aboriginal people are no longer being employed to construct most of the homes, as houses are now being assembled in towns and shipped out to communities.

“It’s not creating employment opportunities out in the bush that the program was supposed to deliver,” said CLP Member for Namatjira Bill Yan.

“The government were slow out of the blocks when the program was announced. Their excuses were they had to make sure that there were significant levels of Aboriginal employment in the program… And of course, now they’re rushing to deliver it.”

Concerns have also been raised that prospective residents of the housing program will not be able to afford the rent as the government’s new contentious Remote Rent Framework—scheduled to be applied in February next year—will see tenants being charged per room, rather than being income-based.

The new rental scheme could push up rental rates by as high as 80 per cent, impacting negatively on tenants in remote areas.

“The permanent goal for the Remote Housing Program is to allow Aboriginal communities to reclaim control of their own housing,” Ms Thomson said.

She said while the NT Government promised to help renters struggling to pay rent through a “safety net” provision—where tenants are charged 25 per cent of their dwelling income for a limited time, households which are not identified to have the safety net “will fall through the cracks and have rent stress.”