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
The lived experience of eviction
ARC Project (No paywall)The report shares the stories of tenants from New South Wales and Queensland, focusing on the social, relational, and structual factors that shape how eviction is experienced. We begin by explaining why evictions matter, what our research entailed, how we define eviction, and who we spoke with about the experience of eviction. Next we present the findings of the research. We discuss how the evictions played out for tenants, e.g how tenants came to understand that their landlord wanted them to leave and the reasons they gave.
https://arcevictionsproject.net/2026/08/19/the-lived-experience-…
# Must read, Research alert Australia, Eviction.Housing experts slam wild One Nation ‘kneejerk’ super-for-rent bid
Sophie Foster news.com.au (No paywall)Housing experts and economists have slammed a wild One Nation plan to let Aussies raid their super for rent and mortgages - warning the inflation hit will push homes even more out of reach. The policy comes off the back of earlier pre-election proposals to let first home buyers access super for deposits - an idea previously rejected by housing advocacy groups. Under the latest suggestion from One Nation, Australians paying rent or a mortgage would be allowed to divert a portion of their compulsory superannuation contributions into their take-home pay for up to three years.
https://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/renting/housing-expe…
# Must read Australia, .One third of Australians are locked out of the energy transition – plug in solar could change that
Dr Gill Armstrong, Climateworks and Mia Dewar The Fifth Estate (No paywall)Millions of Australians are locked out of the energy transition, unable to install solar panels and stuck paying ever increasing energy bills. All Australians, whether they rent or own a home, deserve access to cheap, clean power. The rising cost of buying a home means more Australians are renting than ever before. The cost of living crisis is hitting renters harder as they are also facing high energy bills to stay safe and comfortable in their homes during extreme weather. But new plug in technology for solar panels, already in use overseas, could give all Australians access to renewable energy, no matter where they live.
https://thefifthestate.com.au/columns/spinifex/one-third-of-aust…
# Hot topic Australia, Utilities water energy internet.Orders from above
Peter Mares Inside Story (No paywall)Ben Carroll wants to convince Victorian voters he is neither Daniel Andrews nor Jacinta Allan. The new Labor premier’s first act was to call a royal commission into the construction industry, distancing himself from the crime, corruption and waste that plagues the state’s “Big Build.” And he is far less enthusiastic than his predecessors about Labor’s $34.5 billion Suburban Rail Loop, which aims to reshape Melbourne into a city of dispersed centres. To further differentiate himself, Carroll should rethink a third problematic legacy of the Andrews–Allan era — the plan to demolish all forty-four of Melbourne’s public housing towers by 2051. Andrews announced the plan in September 2023, and the 10,000 residents set to lose their homes mostly learnt about it from the media.
# Australia, Public and community housing.RentTech companies asking tenants for personal details ‘completely outside’ new Victorian laws
Catie McLeod The Guardian (No paywall)So-called “RentTech” companies may be circumventing new Victorian laws designed to protect tenants’ personal data by asking for information outside the rental application process, a review as found. The Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC) identified rental platforms that encouraged hopeful tenants to share an “excessive” amount of personal information, or asked them questions that were “completely outside” the new rules. RentTech platforms are increasingly used by real estate agents in Australia for people applying for rental properties to submit applications and supporting documentation, meaning they store sensitive data.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/sep/10/renttech-…
# Australia, Privacy and access, Starting a tenancy.High-end property hit by steepest price falls as affordable end of Australia’s housing market proves resilient
Jonathan Barrett The Guardian (No paywall)High-end homes are recording steep price falls, while more affordable properties are proving resilient, leaving Australians to experience the market downturn in very different ways, new data shows. Upper-quartile house values in the country’s two biggest markets, Sydney and Melbourne, are now down more than 10% from their peaks, according to analysis from Cotality. The gap between upper and lower-value housing is most pronounced in Sydney and Melbourne, while Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane recorded more even – and modest – price declines over winter.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/sep/10/high-end-…
# Australia, .Mount Isa families face eviction as Aboriginal homes head to auction
Declan Brennan National Indigenous Times (No paywall)The federal government must buy Aboriginal homes being put up for auction in Mount Isa, a federal politician says, as residents face the prospect of homelessness. In May, it was revealed the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation for Welfare Services (ATSICFWS) owed the Mount Isa City Council almost $1 million in unpaid rates accrued over five years. The council subsequently moved to auction 25 properties from July 1, including 15 that are currently occupied. Under Queensland law, the earliest any of the properties could be sold is 15 days after the auction process begins. It is understood the houses will face auction next week.
https://nit.com.au/04-09-2026/26301/mount-isa-families-face-evic…
# Australia, Aboriginal renters, Eviction.Made for $1,500, About The Soufflé takes a swipe at greedy landlords
Stephen A Russell ABC (No paywall)If you had told Connor van Helsing when he was homeless that one day he would star in a movie about his experience he wouldn't have believed you. "It's indescribable," he says, as he reflects on the times he struggled to find a place to sleep. His experiences are the basis of the film About the Soufflé, which will have its world premiere this week at the Darwin International Film Festival. Having been homeless three times, things got pretty grim for van Helsing, who once inspected a rental that turned out to be a shipping container.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-09/about-the-souffle-darwin-…
# Australia, .