Submission: Federal Government Social Housing Inquiry

Australia’s social housing system is trapped in a structural crisis caused by decades of chronic underinvestment and policy shifts that transformed social housing from a universal public good into a tightly targeted welfare model. Long term underinvestment has forced low income and vulnerable households into an unstable private rental market characterised by steep rent increases. Waiting lists for social housing in each state and territory are well over 10 years but this is not a true measure of the level of need as we know many people do not apply for social housing for a range of factors.   There is a critical imperative to rebuild Australia's social housing supply and restore housing security. This will require setting targets for supply that don't just rely on waiting lists to estimate demand as we know they don't capture families in acute housing stress, women fleeing violence, or Indigenous communities facing severe housing deficits. Direct public investment must be prioritised and move beyond market reliant subsidy models. Expanding community land trusts, housing co- operatives, and direct acquisition of existing properties offers immediate cost effective relief while ensuring long term public asset retention. With a significant portion of social housing residents being older Australians or living with a disability, we advocate for a transition to Liveable Housing Design (LHD) Gold Standards across all new builds to ensure safety, dignity, and long term independence. We propose separating housing development from operations to give tenants true choice over their provider, driving service quality through accountability rather than administrative burden. Additionally, private rental models like Build-to-Rent must be bound by strict affordability and tenure security regulations to deliver genuine community benefit.