Two-thirds of social housing residents are aged 50 or over, and the supply of houses is not keeping up with increasing demand, new data has revealed.
The average social housing tenant in Australia is a single woman over 50, according to the latest data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), upending some preconceived notions.
The high-level look at social housing in Australia showed 266,000 of the 423,000 (66 per cent) main public housing residents were over 50, with 62 per cent of that group being female and 36 per cent male.
Social housing in Australia generally consists of two types – public housing, which is managed directly by the government, and community housing, which is usually managed by not-for-profit community groups.
Individuals aged 75 and over made up the single largest group of main social housing tenants (15 per cent or 59,200 households) and those aged between 60 and 64 were the second largest age group (11 per cent or 45,400 households).
When it comes to provision of social housing, not all states and territories are equal. Social housing as a percentage of overall housing stock ranges from 14.4 per cent of all housing in the Northern Territory to just 2.8 per cent in Victoria.
Wait times increase
In all states and territories, social housing is managed through the use of waiting lists with priority given to those considered to be high priority applicants -people fleeing domestic violence or with particular health concerns.
Unfortunately, the stats show that wait times to get into social housing for the highest need applicants have been increasing year on year since 2014.
As of June 2023, there were around 169,000 households on a social housing waiting list which is up from 155,000 in June 2014.
Of the applicants on a waiting list, 41 per cent (69,700) were classed as ‘greatest need’ households – a 28 per cent increase since 2014.
Supply not keeping up with demand
The overall growth of social housing households has not kept up with the overall growth in the number of households in Australia.
Social housing as a proportion of overall housing stock has also been falling since 2014.
Across the four most populous states, social housing represents less than five per cent of total housing stock.
In NSW, just 4.6 per cent of housing is social housing, down from 5.0 per cent in 2014. As mentioned, Victoria has the smallest proportion of social housing in the country at 2.8 per cent, 3.6 per cent social housing in Queensland and 4.1 per cent in Western Australia.
It gets a little better in the remaining jurisdictions. South Australia has 6.0 per cent of houses available for social housing and the ACT has 6.5 per cent.
But the Northern Territory has by far the highest proportion of social housing in the country at 14.4 per cent of all homes.
Do you have any experience with social housing? Do we need to build more stock? Let us know in the comments section below.
Also read: Skyrocketing tax concessions blamed for housing crisis
There is a need for more government housing maybe a scheme like Tasmania used to have where people could buy them over some years – gives people pride to look after their houses and helps those who cannot afford to save a deposit.