Rissa Blakely and her seven children are living in a public park in Petrie. (ABC Radio Brisbane: Kenji Sato)

Rissa Blakely says she fears for her children’s safety when night falls on their homeless camp in Petrie, north of Brisbane.

The mother of seven was refused social housing because her income — which comes solely from Centrelink — was deemed to be too high.

Ms Blakely said she received parenting payments for six of her children, which put her above the income cut-off for social housing.

ABC Radio Brisbane has seen a letter from the Department of Housing asking Ms Blakely to “provide evidence” that she has been unable to find private housing.

The Moreton Bay mother says she sleeps in a crowded tent with her four daughters while her three sons sleep in a separate tent and a caravan.

Ms Blakely said her youngest child was five years old and her eldest 16.

She said the family relied on charities to survive.

A sad-looking woman in a chair next to a tent.

Rissa Blakely says she and her children have been sleeping rough for four months. (ABC Radio Brisbane: Kenji Sato)

“I’m hanging in there, but psychologically we’re getting to breaking point,” Ms Blakely said.

“We’re lucky that Nourish Street comes through three nights a week, otherwise we’ve been living on the bare necessities.

“I think a lot of people would be dead without Nourish Street.”

In Queensland, a single person with three or more children must receive less than $999 per week to be eligible for social housing, including Centrelink payments.

Ms Blakely would have to receive less than $18 per person per day to meet that cut-off.

She said it was impossible to survive on $18 per day.

Two decades of stagnation

A blonde-haired woman in a brightly coloured top stands in the breezeway of a large building.

Aimee McVeigh wants the Queensland government to increase social housing income cut-offs. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)

Queensland Council of Social Service chief executive Aimee McVeigh said social housing income thresholds had not changed since 2006, while inflation had skyrocketed over the 20 years since.

She said that meant more homeless families were being denied social housing.

“The fact that the eligibility criteria for that government support are locking out some of the most vulnerable people in our community is very concerning,” Ms McVeigh said.

“It is common sense to say we need to review eligibility for social housing to make sure people on low incomes have access to this vital support.”

A dark-haired man in a dark blazer stands outdoors.

Sam O’Connor says the Queensland government is delivering a “record social and community housing build program”. (ABC News: Christopher Gillette)

Queensland Housing Minister Sam O’Connor would not say whether he would increase the thresholds and blamed the previous government for the shortage of social housing.

“Too many Queenslanders are struggling with housing because the former Labor government only delivered an average of 509 social homes per year, on top of putting in place a CFMEU tax which smashed construction sector productivity and cost our state 77,000 homes since 2018 alone,” he said.

“The Crisafulli government is delivering a record social and community housing build program, with work underway on 5,970 homes, but with so many eligible vulnerable people waiting, changes to thresholds cannot be considered until we start to turn around the broken system left by Labor.”

A Department of Housing and Public Works spokesperson said they were unable to comment on Ms Blakely’s case due to privacy laws.

“Applications for social housing are assessed by understanding the individual needs of applicants, taking into account their circumstances, including their income,” the spokesperson said.

“Through this process, we can prioritise the most vulnerable Queenslanders to support them into safe and stable housing.”