An ageing population is caught in a perfect storm of rising house prices and rents, falling home ownership rates, mortgage debt carried into retirement, insecure rentals and a lack of social housing.
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Articles on Homeless people
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The last time an Australian government made housing the homeless a priority was 15 years ago. The Albanese government’s promised plan is a second chance to get it right by drawing on models that work.
In any given town, community and neighbourhood there will be homeless children, sometimes as young as 10, who are surviving without the effective care and protection of parents or guardians.
The main driver of homelessness in Australia is housing costs – post-COVID rents, house prices and interest rates are all much higher. To house everyone, the housing system needs a major overhaul.
Gambling during homelessness is sometimes motivated out of desperation and in the hope of financial gain.
To really reduce homelessness we need to prevent those at risk from ever becoming homeless in the first place.
The most vulnerable in society have been hit hard by the pandemic when it comes to getting enough to eat. So what can be done?
JobKeeper, the COVID boost to JobSeeker, and moratoriums on rent increases and evictions all ended this month. Only smarter policies will prevent homelessness, as a landmark Victorian report explains.
Many older women are in desperate need of affordable housing where they can age in place securely, with dignity and as part of a community. The siheyuan model offers ways to meet these needs.
More people than expected needed help, and the states have found stable housing for less than a third of rough sleepers who were put up in hotels. A hands-off federal government simply isn’t helping.
Australia found shelter for more than 33,000 rough sleepers and other homeless people during the pandemic, but a coming surge in homelessness demands a comprehensive national housing strategy.
Debt-free property ownership is no longer a requirement for voting rights, but the idea remains that a person must have a residence in a particular community to be allowed to vote.
When the moratorium on evictions ends, even more Australians will face housing insecurity and homelessness. Beyond the moral and health cases, there’s a powerful financial reason to end homelessness.
Older women have been the fastest-growing group of homeless people in recent years. New research shows about 240,000 women aged 55 or older and another 165,000 women aged 45-54 are at risk.
Police officers are integral front-line workers during this extraordinary crisis. They should be empowered to act as protectors of the vulnerable, not as persecutors of homeless people.
The system isn’t working to prevent young Australians becoming homeless and to house them when they need it. New research finds a shift to proven community-based approaches can end decades of failure.
Improving the housing conditions of the most marginalised people among us is an important biosecurity measure for the whole community.
The spread of coronavirus highlights the urgent need for housing for people who have nowhere to live.
Many homeless people already have compromised immune systems. They are targets – and conduits – for COVID-19.
Top contributors
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Associate Professor, University of South Australia
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Professor of Housing Research and Policy, and Associate Director, City Futures Research Centre, UNSW Sydney
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Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, Gonski Institute for Education, UNSW Sydney
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Research Fellow, Centre for Urban Transitions, Swinburne University of Technology
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Professor, School of Social Science, The University of Queensland
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Senior Lecturer in Social Sciences, University of the West of Scotland
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Senior Research Fellow, City Futures Research Centre, UNSW Sydney
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Research Fellow, Monash University
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Post doctoral research fellow, Launch Housing and Centre for Urban Transitions, Swinburne University of Technology
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Associate Professor in Housing and Communities, University of Tasmania
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Professor, Anthropology and Cultural Studies, University of Sydney
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Professor of Social Policy, University of York
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Professor of Public Policy, University of Southern California
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Sessional Academic, UNSW Built Environment, UNSW Sydney
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Associate Professor, School of the Built Environment, University of Technology Sydney
