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
Indigenous housing progress staring into funding abyss
Abe Maddison National Indigenous Times (No paywall)Urgently needed long-term funding to address the housing crisis in remote Aboriginal communities will be vital if Australia is to hold off abject and worsening First Nations poverty. It is a message that has been personally delivered, with a delegation of Elders highlighting the critical importance of funds for sustainable accommodation, infrastructure and essential services on homelands during a meeting with powers that be in Canberra. Aboriginal Housing Northern Territory chief executive Leeanne Caton says the group received ''a lot of positive responses'' from ministers and bureaucrats.
https://nit.com.au/06-07-2026/25198/indigenous-housing-progress-…
# Australia, Aboriginal renters.Hundreds of households leave Queensland social housing after tenancy and rental review
Claudia Williams ABC (No paywall)Dozens of households have been kicked out of social housing in Queensland after being found to own property or earn more than $80,000 a year. A state government review of 46,210 households in public housing over the last financial year has led to 359 leaving. Of those, 76 owned property or had a high income — less than 1 per cent of those reviewed. Another 143 public housing tenants are being examined further after being identified as potentially owning property.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-29/queensland-public-housing…
# Australia, Rent.Sydney social housing experiencing extreme heat due to lack of standards, study says
Declan Bowring ABC (No paywall)It gets so hot in Mark Hartley's social housing home in summer in Sydney's west that his TV breaks down. Mr Hartley lives in what he describes as a "fibro dog box" in South Windsor with no insulation, air-conditioning or cross-breeze. "The sound goes, the picture goes. And it's basically all from heat," Mr Hartley said. In one recent summer, the front room reached an indoor temperature of 42 degrees Celsius and stayed above 35C for 11 hours.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-23/sydney-social-housing-ext…
# Must read NSW, Public and community housing, Rent, Utilities water energy internet.Bulli couple told two modular homes on one block makes it an 'estate'
Grace Crivellaro ABC (No paywall)On a half-empty suburban block sits an incomplete Australian dream, suspended in planning limbo. For two years Caitlin Holme and Chris Robinson have been trying to build a modular home on a large subdivided block they bought with Ms Holme's sister. The problem is, Ms Holme's sister has her own modular home there. Wollongong City Council has ruled that having two modular homes on the property met the definition of a "manufactured housing estate".
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-26/modular-housing-dream-in-…
# NSW, .The wait for unbuilt social housing felt as Sydney's homeless 'still out on the street'
Millie Roberts and Lydia Feng ABC (No paywall)Reverend Bill Crews says he has never seen Sydney's homelessness crisis worse than it is today. On any given day between 60 and 100 people line the street for his foundation's food truck in Woolloomooloo, with some travelling from as far away as Blacktown, he said. "People will say, 'I've been walking past your vans for years and I never thought I'd be in the queue,'" Reverend Crews said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-20/sydney-homelessness-crisi…
# NSW, .Shoalhaven Council votes to sell homeless shelter, children's disability service sites
Charles Rushforth ABC (No paywall)Not-for-profit groups on the NSW South Coast say they are "devastated' by a plan to uproot their services as part of a $14 million council land deal. The Shoalhaven City Council has narrowly voted to rezone and sell the land which is currently used by a children's disability service, a crisis housing shelter and a local youth hub. The sites are among more than 20 properties it hopes to sell in a bid to raise money and stave off a potential rate rise for residents. The affected groups include the Ulladulla-based children's disability service Noah's Inclusion Services.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-29/shoalhaven-council-land-s…
# NSW, .If a developer can break the rules, why can’t we? Roseville residents’ high-rise beef
Huw Bradshaw North Shore Lorikeet (No paywall)Ku-ring-gai homeowners constrained by strict heritage rules have been left feeling bewildered after a nine-storey apartment building on a neighbouring block was approved, while they must continue to abide by the same restrictions. What happened: For some North Shore residents, minor home modifications can be a complicated process. Those living in heritage protected areas of Roseville, for example, can have a development application for a new garage door or solar panel installation rejected by council.
https://www.northshorelorikeet.com.au/p/if-a-developer-can-break…
# NSW, .Mingara seniors housing development approved
Terry Collins Coast Community News (No paywall)The Independent Planning Commission has approved a seniors housing development adjacent Mingara Recreation Centre at Tumbi Umbi, but not everyone is happy with the decision. Mingara Leisure Group says the “thoughtfully designed retirement living community” supports its long-term commitment to the Central Coast community, but Mingara Athletics Regional Club says it will change how the athletics centre operates. Mingara CEO Grant Gladman said the development, to be delivered in partnersip with Pariter, responded to both the changing needs of the Central Coast and Mingara’s long-standing role in community life.
https://coastcommunitynews.com.au/central-coast/news/2026/07/min…
# NSW, .