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Housing News Digest
Housing News Digest
The Tenants' Union Housing News Digest compiles our pick of items from all the latest tenancy and housing media, sent once per week, on Thursdays.
Below is the Digest archive from November 2020 onwards. From time to time you will find additional items in the archive that did not make it into the weekly Digest email. Earlier archives are here, where you can also find additional digests by other organisations.
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Archive
Far North Queensland has a housing crisis but the census found more than 11,000 empty homes
Christopher Testa ABC (No paywall)A shortage of housing in Far North Queensland is driving people into precarious accommodation and making it harder for employers to find staff. But on census night last year, more than 11,500 homes across the greater Cairns region were empty. That included the Douglas Shire, where the rate of empty homes was 18 per cent, almost double the statewide average.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-29/census-finds-11000-homes-…
# Australia, Housing market, Planning and development.Social housing stock barely changes as waiting lists blow out and rental stress doubles across Australia
Luke Henriques-Gomes The Guardian (No paywall)The number of social housing units in Australia rose by less than 1% last year and actually went backwards in some states, while waiting lists across the country blew out further and rental stress among jobseekers receiving rent assistance doubled. As the new Albanese government seeks to increase social housing stock nationally, a report released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) on Wednesday showed demand for housing support continues to outstrip supply.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jun/29/social-ho…
# Australia, Public and community housing.Accommodating adults with intellectual disabilities and high support needs in Individual Supported Living arrangements
Stian Thoresen, Patricia O’Brien, Mary-Ann O’Donovan, Brontë Walter, Arne Mueller, Greta Westermann, Erin Whittle and Angus Buchanan AHURI (No paywall)This research investigated Individual Supported Living (ISL) arrangements, which have been developed to provide appropriate and preferred homes for persons with intellectual disabilities and high support needs.
# Research alert Australia, Disability, Housing market.Everything to play for: whistleblower’s home on the line as Lendlease makes merry with tax code
Michael West (No paywall)When the top brass at Lendlease and their Big 4 tax avoidance advisers were plotting how to skin the Tax Office for $300m in a retirement village scam 10 years ago, they needed to get residents to switch from leases to loans. So they dangled $9000 payments in front of their elderly residents to entice them to swap contracts. (Michael West Media)
https://michaelwest.com.au/everything-to-play-for-whistleblowers…
# Australia, Housing market, Older people, Tax.Census finding of 1 million vacant properties amid housing crisis an 'enormous policy oversight', demographer says
Loretta Lohberger ABC (No paywall)An "enormous chunk" of Australia's housing stock is unoccupied, and "something must be done" about it, a demographer says. According to figures from the 2021 census, 1 million Australian homes — 10 per cent of the housing stock — were unoccupied on census night last August. ... [Principal solicitor at the Tenants' Union of Tasmania, Ben Bartl, said: 'The Tenants' Union is ... concerned about the number of vacant homes. It has used data from water authority TasWater to show that there were about 2,000 properties in the state that had been empty for three years.' Also, read Rachel Eddie's and Meghan Dansie's article entitled: 'Victoria is more diverse and residents have smaller mortgages, census finds' in 'The Sydney Morning Herald' at: [https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/victoria-is-more-diverse-and-residents-have-smaller-mortgages-census-finds-20220627-p5awtg.html]. Read Cameron Atfield's article entitled: 'Census reveals Queensland’s fastest-growing areas' in 'The Sydney Morning Herald' at: [https://www.smh.com.au/national/queensland/census-reveals-huge-growth-in-brisbane-20220628-p5ax8r.html]. Read Hamish Hastie's article entitled: 'Cashed-up, big houses and urban sprawl: How WA differs from the rest of Australia' in 'The Sydney Morning Herald' at: [https://www.smh.com.au/national/western-australia/cashed-up-big-houses-and-urban-sprawl-how-wa-differs-from-the-rest-of-australia-20220628-p5ax9i.html]
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-29/census-finds-1-million-em…
# Australia, Rent, Housing market.Fears for wellbeing of older Australians as 65,000 aged care workers leave sector each year
Christopher Knaus The Guardian (No paywall)The shortfall of aged care workers has doubled since August and 65,000 workers are leaving the sector each year, prompting fears that basic care for older Australians is being compromised. The Committee for Economic Development of Australia (Ceda) released a new report on Tuesday showing a further deterioration in the country’s aged care staffing crisis since the royal commission. The report estimates the number of direct care workers is now 30,000 to 35,000 a year short of what is needed.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jun/27/fears-for…
# Australia, Housing market, Older people.Cherbourg Aboriginal Council freezes rents for 12 months to combat cost of living pressures
Georgie Hewson ABC (No paywall)Renters in Queensland's largest Indigenous shire have had their rates frozen for a year as the council helps locals cope with the rising cost of living. The Aboriginal Shire of Cherbourg, a three-hour drive from Brisbane, is also facing a mass influx of former residents returning home in search of affordable and culturally-appropriate housing. It is contributing to the housing crisis, with 200 people on a waiting list for a home in the town of about 1,200, according to the Cherbourg Aboriginal Council.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-28/cherbourg-aboriginal-coun…
# Australia, Aboriginal renters, Rent.Indigenous-led supportive housing can be transformative
Lauren Brown, Aboriginal Coalition to End Homelessness, Fran Hunt-Jinnouchi and Julia O'Quinn The Conversation (No paywall)Look to any urban centre in Canada and you will find First Nations, Métis and Inuit (FNMI) peoples disproportionately experiencing homelessness. Look to any urban centre in Canada and you will find First Nations, Métis and Inuit (FNMI) peoples disproportionately experiencing homelessness. ... This pervasive trend is symptomatic of Canada’s intensifying housing crisis, coupled with the insidious impacts of past and present colonial policies. There is also a lack of housing models that take into consideration FNMI cultural knowledge and the voices of FNMI people. Looking to and learning from existing Indigenous-led and community-informed models may bring us one step closer to addressing this disparity.
https://theconversation.com/indigenous-led-supportive-housing-ca…
# International, Homelessness, Housing market, Race and ethnicity.