Ep. 312: Why Social Housing Supply Can’t Keep Up – Exploring the Causes, Consequences & Potential Solutions to Australia’s Housing Shortfall
Ep. 312: Why Social Housing Supply Can’t Keep Up – Exploring the Causes, Consequences & Potential Solutions to Australia’s Housing Shortfall
1.30 – What is social housing?
6.11 – Crisis accommodation: where does this fit in?
5.58 – Dave asks Mike about the 30% shortfall of commencements of the Housing Accord
11.40 – The 30/40 rule: Mike sheds light on what this means when it comes to housing affordability
19.00 – Underutilisation is a problem with government housing, but how much public housing do we need?
21.15 – Sneak peak on next week’s episode: a housing boom?
27.52 – Proposed solutions and reforms….
34.48 – Dave’s three point plan
38.32 – Gold Nuggets!
🏘️ What is Social Housing?
This week, The Trio unpack social housing — subsidised accommodation aimed at vulnerable Australians. Social housing includes both public housing (state-managed) and community housing (run by not-for-profits). Unlike private rentals, it’s allocated based on need, not market competition, and supports those on low incomes, often dealing with complex challenges like homelessness or family violence.
🚨 Crisis Accommodation vs. Social Housing
Cate draws a clear line between crisis accommodation — short-term emergency shelters — and longer-term social housing. Crisis services, often provided by groups like The Salvation Army and Mission Australia, offer additional safety nets with added support services such as counselling and case management.
💸 How Rents Are Set
Rent in public housing is typically capped at 25–30% of assessable household income. Rebates are applied to keep rent affordable, based on wage income and benefits. Mike adds that in community housing, Commonwealth Rent Assistance is also factored in, and providers usually charge under 75% of market rent to remain GST-exempt.
🏠 Affordable vs. Social Housing
Dave and Cate address the often-blurred lines between affordable housing and social housing. While affordable housing lacks a universal definition in Australia, it usually refers to pricing that’s lower than the market or tied to a percentage of income, and can include both rentals and home ownership.
📉 A Shrinking Share of Housing
Cate points out that social housing now makes up just 4% of all housing in Australia — a figure unchanged since the 1990s despite population growth. Over 170,000 households are currently on waiting lists, some facing years-long delays. Meanwhile, ageing and abandoned stock is going unused. Cate cites two specific examples in Knoxfield and Ballarat.
📊 Demand Far Outpaces Supply
Mike estimates over 565,000 households either live in or are waiting for social housing. Projections suggest that by 2037, Australia may need over 1.1 million social dwellings — far exceeding current policy commitments.
🌍 International Comparisons
The Trio compares Australia’s performance globally. At just 4.4%, we lag behind the OECD average (6.9%) and trail countries like the UK (17%) and the Netherlands (34%). The message is clear: more investment and smarter policy are urgently needed.
…. and our gold nuggets!
Mike Mortlock’s gold nugget: Considering the COVID response and how the Federal government worked with the states… we need to have a national cabinet again to address this issue.
Cate Bakos’s gold nugget: “We need a bi-partisan approach!”
David Johnston’s gold nugget: Setting up a bi-partisan model, (an independent body that is not actually political) is a first start. Dave’s three point plan highlighted some of the challenges that need to be addressed with this enormous, and important task.
Related episodes:
Ep. 244 Tackling Housing Affordability – Part 1: Dissecting Proposals for Housing Innovation
Ep. 246 Tackling Housing Affordability – Part 2: The Trio’s Blueprint to Foster a Healthy Property Market
Resources: