There are no ‘silver bullet’ solutions to a crisis that has left both renters and owners struggling. Only a comprehensive package of bold policies can ensure all Australians are securely housed.
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
Articles on rent assistance
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Rent assistance can ease rental stress, but it won’t help low-income earners find secure and affordable housing when it’s in such short supply, nor stop disadvantage being concentrated in some areas.
The big increases quoted are for “asking rents”. The rents paid by existing renters are climbing more slowly.
Some rent assistance is paid to households who don’t much need it. Others who do need it miss out.
Once rent is paid, having to live on only $14 a day doesn’t cover the costs of job seeking. The evidence of the need to increase Newstart and Rent Allowance is overwhelming.
People over 65 who still have a mortgage or are renting are projected to double in number by 2031. The trend is likely to hit government budgets and leave more retirees in poverty.
Our retirement incomes system has been built around the assumption that most will own their own homes. New projections suggest it’s no longer valid.
For the first time a state government housing agency has effectively contracted out all its operations in some regions, but will this improve and add to the total social housing stock?
Super is the wrong tool to provide an adequate support in retirement for low-income earners. Our research shows top-up measures to help this group are poorly targeted and too expensive.
Top contributors
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ARC Future Fellow & Professor of Economics, Curtin University
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Program Director, Economic Policy, Grattan Institute
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Associate Professor, Centre for Social Research and Methods, Director, Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), Australian National University
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Emeritus Professor of Housing and Housing Studies, RMIT University
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Adjunct Professor, School of Social Sciences, Western Sydney University
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Research Associate, Centre for People, Organisation and Work, RMIT University
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Vice Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellow, RMIT University
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Professor of Housing Research and Policy, and Associate Director, City Futures Research Centre, UNSW Sydney
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Research Fellow, RMIT University
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Senior Research Fellow, City Futures Research Centre, UNSW Sydney
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Associate, Grattan Institute
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Adjunct associate, Swinburne University of Technology
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Associate Professor in Urban Planning, The University of Queensland
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Research fellow, Curtin University
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Researcher, Grattan Institute
