Doctors warned Andrea could die without safe housing, then discharged her to sleep on the streets

“I’m really frightened that something’s gonna happen to her. The next time she gets sick, it might be too late.”

The family have experienced intergenerational trauma and violence, including having children forcibly removed, losing a sibling and chronic housing instability.

Lawyer and housing advocate Dr Betsy Buchanan, from Daydawn, a Catholic advocacy organisation that supports First Nations people, has known Woodley and her family for years. She said she has been concerned for Woodley’s safety and wellbeing since the 39-year-old was released from prison into homelessness earlier this year.

Buchanan has written on Woodley’s behalf to the WA housing department and the office of the housing minister.

“I rang and informed them that Andrea was so ill and had nearly died from sleeping rough,” she said. “And they said she would still have another two-year wait, even though she had very strong medical letters from her doctors.

“They’ve just got a stock answer that ‘everyone on the priority list is the same’, and they don’t make any exception to the fact that a First Nation person might be dying.”

The WA government has been under increasing pressure about public housing waiting lists. Last week it announced it was banning “no ground” evictions – a policy which up until now has disproportionately affected First Nations families.

Jesse Noakes, a campaigner with End Unfair Evictions, said it was a welcome move.

“In recent years, the state government has evicted hundreds of families from public housing without grounds at the end of fixed term tenancies,” Noakes said.

Last month, Guardian Australia reported that a Noongar woman had died of sepsis just weeks after giving birth, and two months after she was evicted from public housing.

A spokesperson from the WA Department of Housing and Works said priority housing waiting lists in the state were long, and it was difficult to determine how long it would take for a suitable property to become available. People experiencing domestic or family violence are referred to services for additional support, they said.

“The Department of Housing and Works strives to meet the housing needs of all applicants on the waiting list at the earliest possible opportunity,” they said.

The department said Woodley was a public housing tenant between 2008 and 2023, until the fire in her Broome home. It said that home was inspected and deemed habitable, but Woodley moved out in November 2023 after being approved for a transfer to Perth. Getting approved for a transfer does not mean she was offered a property, just that she is on the waiting list in a different location.

“All applicants on the priority waiting list have demonstrated an urgent need for housing,” the department said. “[The department] is committed to working with Ms Woodley, and her advocate has been provided the details of support services that may be able to assist her.”

Taylor said access to a safe and secure home could save her daughter’s life.

“She just says ‘all I want is a room of my own, with my little TV’,” Taylor said.“I know that she will get better if she was to have that. That’s all she wants.”