Report highlights Australia’s social housing crisis

The damning report released by Anglicare Australia, surveyed over 69,000 rental listings across the country, highlighting the chronic shortage of affordable rentals in Australia.

The Rental Affordability Snapshot shows only 317 rentals were affordable for a single person on the Disability Support Pension, including 12 properties in Adelaide, 34 in Victoria, 30 in Tasmania, 67 in Central Queensland and 3 properties in North Coast New South Wales.

Shockingly, there were no appropriate and affordable rental properties available for those living in the ACT and Queanbeyan area, Northern Territory or NSW’s Greater Sydney and the Illawarra Region.

Executive Director of Anglicare Australia Kasy Chambers says the rental crisis is getting worse.

“Housing in Australia is broken. Our figures show that affordability is down across the board.

“There is a huge shortage of secure, affordable rentals. That’s causing record levels of rental stress and even homelessness.”

Ms Chambers says there is a dire shortage of social housing with only 4 percent of rental properties adorable and suitable for low income groups, such as people with disability.

“People on the lowest incomes are being squeezed out of the rental market. That’s why it’s urgent that we invest in social housing.

“Our social housing shortfall is massive.”

The report also found of the estimated 750,000 people receiving the Disability Support Pension and Commonwealth Rent Assistance, 79,063 are spending 30 percent of their income on rent, while 17,257 people are spending 50 percent of their income on ensuring they have a roof over their heads.

Sadly, in the ten years that Anglicare Australia has been completing the Rental Affordability Snapshot, there haven’t been any remarkable changes to the country’s rental landscape.

Anglicare Australia is calling on the Federal and State Governments to invest in accessible, affordable social housing to ensure the wellbeing of our most vulnerable community members.

Ms Chambers says Australia needs 300,000 new social properties.

“We’re calling on all parties to commit to ending this shortfall – and ensure that everyone has a place to call home,” she says.

You can read the Rental Affordability Snapshot on the Anglicare website or discover what rental properties are available and the depth of the housing crisis per region.