Social housing is about to expand but residents also need community support services

The cost, supply and availability of housing has engaged Australians as few other current issues have this year, a situation described as “both devilishly complex and capable of unleashing the nation’s darker angels.” A major increase in the supply of social housing has been proposed but is only the beginning of addressing affordable housing challenges.

Housing purchase remains stubbornly high, reflecting an increasingly “broken system”; rents have risen to unprecedented levels, driven by post-pandemic overseas migration, limited stock and steadily fewer people living in each residence. Access to housing now equates to how wealthy – or not – you are: “the disparity in wealth between who owns and who rents … defines Australia’s increasing inequality,” says Tone Wheeler. It’s also become highly political, with the one-third of Australians who rent increasingly leaning towards one political party (The Greens), especially in inner city electorates.

For these reasons, I optimistically predict we will soon see agreement – hopefully with increased support and direct funding – on the Albanese Government’s proposed $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund, which plans to fund 30,000 new social and affordable housing properties in its first five years. But this will only go part-way to dealing with “one of the most serious housing crises in our history,” according to the construction union’s Zach Smith.

It’s about time. The national social housing waiting list has topped 175,000 (with at least another 250,000 eligible but not on the lists) – necessitating a wait of more than 10 years in some locations. Australia’s investment in social housing has lagged significantly for at least two decades. In mid-2022, Australia had around 443,000 social housing dwellings, but only 36,200 dwellings had been added in the 16-year period from 2006 (see Table 1 below, from AIHW). This represented a 10% increase, compared to 28.5% Australian population growth. Not surprisingly, “the proportion of people in social housing … fell by a fifth, from 4.6% to 3.7%, over the past decade.”

Social housing has also been changing, with state and territory public (government) housing dwelling numbers decreasing each year, shifting to an expanded not-for-profit community-managed housing sector.

Housing, construction and renter advocates are correct – our social housing needs are desperate. So what happens when Australia finally starts to build more social housing?

It won’t fix everything, because residents of social housing are some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged Australians, often beset by social problems and higher crime rates: “Social housing has undergone a ‘residualisation’ process where housing has been increasingly allocated to those with complex issues … those with physical and psychosocial disability, who are at risk of homelessness, or are on very low incomes …. This has created an ‘ambulance service’ provision addressing housing of the most vulnerable in society.”

These social challenges underscore the necessity of parallel investments in social housing management and integrated community services for residents. The social arrangements of medium- and high-density housing can be very complex, even more so when large estates are owned and operated by governments: witness the July 2020 Melbourne high-rise public housing tower COVID-19 lockdowns, when “3,000 residents confined to their flats for 5 days,” with residents of one tower locked down for 14 days.

Although strata management has professionalised in recent years, Australia has not developed a tradition of higher density living and housing management. Public and non-profit housing managers are challenged by balancing cost considerations and resident needs. Researchers point out that “lower income and vulnerable residents generally have less choice and less influence than other socio-economic groups, are disproportionately affected by the challenges of higher density living…. and Australian governments have not adequately acknowledged and addressed the impact of higher density housing on lower income and vulnerable residents.”

There has been a progressive shift from large-scale public housing estates to smaller, diverse community housing providers (including cooperatives), from one-tenth of social housing units in 2006 to one-third in 2022. The Community Housing Industry Association of NSW now has 41 members operating around the state; community-owned housing may have received little public fanfare, but has started to change the social housing landscape for the better. Community housing providers have shown their ability to refine “housing management activities and procedures to better support their tenants”, expand place-based management activities and capably support the value and importance of community development.

Social housing tenants – be it in a Melbourne public high-rise or a lower density country town – need integrated community and social support, ideally including education, training and other skills opportunities. Commitment to new construction is necessary, but only the first step on the long road to a successful social housing policy that meets the needs of vulnerable and disadvantaged Australians and ensures our success as a nation.