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
Hundreds of market-rate rentals but no public housing guarantee: Tower plans labelled horrific
Gemma Grant The Age (Paywall)New redevelopment plans for one of Melbourne’s biggest public housing towers provide no guarantee of supplying public homes, as the government prepares to introduce hundreds of market-rate rentals. The state government briefed the City of Yarra on its plans for the tower at 139 Highett Street, Richmond, which currently has 220 public housing flats, on September 11. The number of apartments is set to almost quadruple to 800 as part of the major demolition and development project, according to the council’s briefing. The height of the development or how many buildings will be included is unknown.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/hundreds-of-market-r…
# Australia, Public and community housing.Weak rental energy efficiency standards could leave tenants saddled with higher power bills
Anne Delaney Renew Economy (No paywall)The NSW government risks leaving renters with higher power bills if it introduces minimum energy efficiency standards that stop at ceiling insulation and air conditioning, new modelling warns. National sustainability organisation Renew found the “sweet spot” for home energy upgrades is a more substantial package combining insulation, shading and efficient heating and cooling with heat-pump hot water and rooftop solar. That package could cut renters’ energy bills by between two-thirds and three-quarters while keeping their homes within a healthier temperature range of 18°C to 25.5°C.
https://reneweconomy-com-au.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/reneweconomy…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent, Utilities water energy internet.'Forgotten people': Radical new housing proposal to tackle major renting crisis ahead of national summit
Charlotte McIntyre News 24 ()The national housing co-operative movement has warned that radical reform is required to ensure renters do not suffer amid Australia's housing crisis.
Policy reform and new financing models have been proposed ahead of a national summit hosted by the Australian Co-operative Housing Alliance (ACHA) on Thursday at Parliament House in Sydney.
Liz Thomas, chair of the ACHA, says the government and banking sector need to support increasing the supply of rental co-ops in Australia.
https://www.news24.com.au/business/real-estate/forgotten-people-…
# Australia, Rent.Australian grid operator trials C&I rooftop solar initiative to share energy benefits with renters
Ev Foley PV Magazine (No paywall)East coast electricity distributor Ausgrid is rolling out a trial to turn commercial and industrial (C&I) rooftop solar surplus, into an opportunity to share energy with consumers who can’t install solar. Renters, apartment dwellers, consumers priced out of solar market, and small businesses neighbouring industrial zones, shopping centres, schools and other large buildings, could benefit from surplus solar generated by C&I facilities.
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2026/09/18/ausgrid-trials-ci-rooftop…
# NSW, Utilities water energy internet.Half of young Australian adults now live with their parents – and it’s not hard to see why
Patrick Commins The Guardian (No paywall)Every year, thousands of Australians answer a series of questions as part of the long-running Hilda survey. This questionnaire – more expansively known as the household, income and labour dynamics in Australia survey – has been tracking the same households since 2001. As the families have expanded over the past two decades, the survey has grown to include about 17,000 people a year in 9,000 households, offering a unique insight into Australian life in the 21st century – and how it has changed. This week, the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, which manages the survey, published its annual snapshot of the social and economic trends shaping Australia. Here are six things we learned.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/sep/24/young-aus…
# Australia, Rent.Beyond the floods: How Northern Rivers Community Gateway is helping Lismore rebuild
Commbank (No paywall)In Lismore, recovery from natural disasters has become a long-term challenge. Northern Rivers Community Gateway is supporting people as recovery stretches on for years, helping them rebuild their finances, secure stable housing and plan for what comes next. Lismore is one of Australia’s most flood-prone urban centres, with the community experiencing several significant floods in recent years. The city was hit by major flooding in March 2017, before the Wilsons River rose to a record 14.4m on 28 February 2022, the highest flood level recorded in Lismore.
https://www.commbank.com.au/articles/newsroom/2026/09/beyond-the…
# NSW, Disasters.WA government commits $100 million to new rental apartments in Perth CBD
Pip Waller ABC (No paywall)The WA government will spend more than $100 million on a new 30-storey apartment building in the Perth CBD, which it says will ease the city's housing shortage. Set to be built on Roe Street, adjacent to the Perth Arena, the project will include 174 one- and two-bedroom rentals, 139 of which will be used for affordable housing, with 35 for social housing, according to the government. The building is expected to be completed by 2029.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-13/wa-government-to-build-ne…
# Australia, Public and community housing.All renters can now use Smart Rental Bonds
NSW Government (No paywall)Every renter in NSW can now avoid having to find thousands of dollars for a second bond when they move home, with the Minns Labor Government’s Smart Rental Bonds scheme rolling out statewide today – months ahead of schedule. With a successful first phase of the rollout in the local government areas of Penrith, Parramatta and the Central Coast last month, the new system is now being launched in all areas of NSW. Almost $1 million worth of bond transfers have now successfully been made, meaning a statewide rollout can begin earlier than anticipated.
https://www.nsw.gov.au/ministerial-releases/all-renters-can-now-…
# Hot topic NSW, Bond.