Everybody’s Home is urging the government to rapidly step up its efforts to ease the housing crisis, as new figures reveal the stubbornly slow growth and low proportion of social housing in Australia.
New Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data shows the proportion of households living in social housing is shrinking - dropping from 4.7 percent in 2013 to 4.1 percent in 2023.
Meanwhile, the number of social homes grew by just 2,870 between June 2022 and June 2023 - all while more than 184,000 households officially sat on a waitlist.
Everybody’s Home spokesperson Maiy Azize said the glacial pace of social housing growth is failing to meet demand.
“Australia is only building about 3,000 social homes every year - at this rate, it would take us more than 200 years to build enough homes just to meet today’s need,” Ms Azize said.
“Even if the government meets its five-year target of 30,000 it’s simply not enough to meet today’s chasmic shortfall of 640,000 homes.
“The government must start aiming for at least one in ten homes to be social homes. That would turn our housing crisis around and make housing more affordable for everyone.
“No matter which way you slice it, the rate at which we are building social housing is failing renters. How many more Australians have to be forced to sleep in their cars, on the streets, in overcrowded homes and unsafe accommodation before the government gets serious?
“Funding social housing all comes down to choice. It’s time for the federal government to get back into the business of building homes, instead of relying on the private sector to build unaffordable housing - a political decision that continues to fail Australians.”
Media contact: Sofie Wainwright 0403 920 301
