The Australian Affordable Housing Crisis

Everyone has the right to safe, secure and affordable housing…
In 2011 Australia had a shortage of half a million affordable rental properties.
On any given night over 105,000 people in Australia are homeless.  16,000 of these are children.

Housing Costs

Australia is in the grip of a housing crisis, with a broken system, that prevents many people on low and moderate incomes from
purchasingand keeping a roof over their heads.

According to figures by loan analysts, 59% of NSW loans in 2014 were given to investors, with the rate of home purchasers among
25 to 44 year olds declining 15% in the last 20 years.

Housing costs are rising so rapidly that 42% of households who need rental assistance are still classified as being in housing stress after Commonwealth Rent Assistance has been received.

In Sydney at present, a person buying a standard house with an average salary, will after paying a mortgage, have a $100 to live on.  
In 2014 the median house price was $811,837.

According to the Reserve Bank of Australia Bulletin, housing prices are continuing to rise nationally and are already 4 to 5 times the average
annual household earnings, with capital city rents rising at twice the rate of inflation between 2005 and 2010.  These higher rents make it
impossible for many people to save deposits, with an increasing number of people renting long term often in affordable and insecure housing.
Housing affordability stress is particularly focused on private renters, single person households under the age of 65 and low income earners.  Households with dependant children are at the greatest risk of spending prolonged periods in housing stress.

 

Public Housing

Public housing provides secure, stable and affordable housing for over 300,000 Australians, but in 2011 there were still 173,000 Australians
on public housing waitlists.

Between 1996 and 2007, the number of affordable public housing properties shrunk by 32,000, while the population grew by 2.8 million.  
Now, current estimates already put the shortage of social housing at 90,000 homes which will rise to 150,000 in eight years time if nothing is done.

The number of people receiving support from homelessness services rose in 2013 and 2014 with 254,000 people assisted. 
However, the number of people whom services could not assist also continues to rise.  Last year on average, 423 people every day, were unable
to be assisted.   In 2009 and 2010, 58% of people seeking accommodation were turned away because services were unable to meet demand.

From the daily average of unassisted requests, more than a quarter of these requests were from women aged 18 to 24.  The proportion of unassisted persons who needed accommodation remained at 80% (although it was 96% of single people with children), with 58% of these refusals due to no accommodation being available.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Affordable Disabled Housing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ACOSS & AAH Pressure on the Government
(Australian Council of Social Service & Australians for Affordable Housing)

According to statistics by the AAH,  Australian households are paying more than they can afford for housing, with over 740,000 renters
and more than 380,000 mortgaged home owners reporting significant financial stress. We are seeing a diminishing appetite by governments
to invest in affordable housing programs. The last 30 years have seen a reduction in government investment in social and community housing
by more than 25%.
 

The AAH and ACOSS are calling on the State Governments to commit to working with federal and local governments to solve this crisis.

ACOSS Budget Recommendations: Housing and Homelessness

1. Limit deductions for expenses relating to housing and other passive investments to income from the same asset - Revenue: $500 million
    ($1,000 million in 2016-17)

2. Establish a long-term Affordable Housing Growth Fund - Cost: $750 million in 2015-16 ($900 million in 2016-2017)

3. Review Commonwealth Rent Assistance and increase the maximum rate of CRA - Cost: $720.5 million in 2015-16 ($759.6 million in 2016-17)

4. Maintain funding for homelessness services and index to CPI or wage price index, whichever is highest - Cost: $160 million in 2015-16
    ($170 million in 2016-17)

5. Improve the adequacy of NAHA indexation - Cost: $33 million 2015-16 ($34 million 2016-17)

6. Invest in the National Rental Affordability Scheme to increase the supply of affordable rental housing - Cost: $36 million in 2015-16
    ($98 million in 2016-17).