The Queensland Government is leaving the door open to use the mothballed Wellcamp quarantine facility to house vulnerable people from the surrounding area.
In a budget estimates hearing on Thursday, opposition housing spokesman Tim Mander queried why the empty 1000-bed facility wasn't being used by some of the thousands of people in need around Toowoomba.
Housing Minister Leeanne Enoch told the committee that all options for Wellcamp were still on the table.
"In terms of Toowoomba specifically, the department has been working with specialist homelessness services in that region regarding need and demand," she said.
The Wellcamp quarantine facility closed at the beginning of August and the state government is investigating other uses for the site until its lease runs out in April.
The hearing was told there were 27,437 households on the state's waitlist for social housing as of June 20, slightly below the figure for the same time last year.
Housing department director-general Clare O'Conner said 98 per cent of housing register applicants were contacted over the past 12 months to get a clear idea of those most in need of housing.
About one-fifth of applicants were removed from the register after the department could either not contact them or they were found to no longer be eligible or in need.
"That can include (because of) increased income, it can include another family member moving onto the premises ... and there were quite a number who were uncontactable," Ms O'Conner said.
"I can tell you that my expectation is that the department does this very thoroughly, and that we use multiple methods of contact including phone calls, text messages, letters and emails."
Ms Enoch said the state's $1 billion housing investment fund was expected to provide a return about $160 million over four years and that would go towards a commitment to start building 10,000 new social and affordable homes.
Australian Associated Press
