THE Albanese government must double the Housing Australia Future Fund to at least $20 billion, after public and community housing has shrunk to just 4% of all housing.
The Community Housing Industry Association (CHIA) are calling for the government to beef up the fund following analysis of Productivity Commission government services data that reveals housing stock is far from keeping up with population increases.
Total social housing stock has growth at a third of the rate of Australia’s population in the decade to 2022-23.
With public and community housing stock numbers up just 21,744 or 5.2% since 2012-13, while the population has grown by 15.1%.
With public and community housing at just 4% of all housing stock, lettings to new tenants are down 38%, in nominal terms, from 1991.
Adjusted to population growth, the 2022-23 figure shows lettings to new tenants are down 59% from 1991.
Since just 2017-18, allocations proportionate to population have declined by 14%, in a period where affordable rentals for low-income earners are at a historic low.
“Using a true measure of supply that takes into account population growth, the provision of social housing has effectively more than halved since the early 1990s” said Wendy Hayhurst, CEO at CHIA.
The $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) needs to see capital investment doubled at minimum to meet housing needs. With housing demand set to jump from 640,000 to one million households by 2041.
“Australia’s housing system has failed catastrophically to respond to soaring need. The government’s commitment to fund 40,000 new rental homes through the HAFF and the National Housing Accord represent significant initial steps in reversing decades of national housing policy neglect,” added Hayhurst.
“But commitments to date are simply not enough to meet the sheer scale of demand from Australia’s lowest income households as rental availability vanishes and costs soar.”
As of June 2023, there were 108,000 community housing units, an increase of 65% since 2014.
While NSW accounts for 55% of the national 10-year increase in social housing supply, with an additional 11,983 homes.
South Australia’s social housing stock has reversed, with that state’s provision declining by 3,424 dwellings of 5.7% of stock.
“To bolster social housing investment the government should use its budget surplus to at least double its capital stake under the HAFF,” said Charles Northcote, director at CHIA NSW and CEO at BlueCHP.
At the same time, spending on homelessness services by states and territories has increased by 31% in real terms over the last five years.
However, 35% of those seeking help are not having their accommodation needs met, an increase from 29% in 2016.
”Channelling the additional investment returns to an expanded social housing program could be done without increasing inflation, as this could simply enable us to extend the program beyond 2030,” added Hayhurst.
“This would significantly boost housing supply, open up flexibility in funding streams, and allow the delivery of more social and affordable housing options. If we can grow the program enough it will begin to dampen rent inflation at the bottom of the private rental market.”
