Australia faces a social housing timebomb, with a looming shortfall of almost 200,000 homes by 2031, unless the federal government begins investing now.
That’s according to a new report released on Monday 30 August by Hunter-based Compass Housing Services.
The data reveals state governments have limited capacity to house the people on their respective waiting lists and no capacity to cater for future demand.
Lead-author Professor David Adamson said, despite good intentions, the states had lost control of the issue.
He believes the problem is now too big for them to handle with 196,000 new social housing units needed by 2031.
In New South Wales, there are 51,395 people on the waiting list with a predicted shortfall of homes impacting 65,000 residents over the next 10 years.
“There are approximately 169,000 households needed across Australia and, under the current system, most of them will never be allocated a property,” Professor Adamson said.
“Over the next decade the states and territories are planning to build just 66,000 social housing properties.
“Even if they hit their targets, they will have undershot the existing level of demand by 60%, or more than 100,000 homes.
“If you include the additional demand from population growth over the period in question, the shortfall increases to more than 196,000 homes.”
Report co-author Martin Kennedy said the problems facing the social housing system were part of a broader housing crisis that had been building for 30 years.
“Home ownership rates have collapsed, the share of renters in housing stress is increasing and social housing waiting lists are out of control,” he explained.
“The federal government insists social housing is a state responsibility, but that arrangement isn’t working.
“If we keep expecting the states to fix a problem that is clearly beyond them, an increasing proportion of the population will experience socially damaging levels of inequality and financial hardship.”
Everybody’s Home national spokesperson Kate Colvin said national intervention was urgent.
“The federal-state blame game is arid and gets us nowhere,” she stated.
“A ballooning number of Australians on low and middle incomes simply cannot compete for housing in the booming private sales and rental market.
“We need a breakthrough in co-operation quickly, otherwise Australia will confront a social catastrophe.
“State governments simply do not have the fiscal firepower to build enough social housing.
“Unless the federal government steps up, homelessness services and other health and welfare services will be overwhelmed.”
The report calls on the Australian Government to take the lead on a national partnership between all levels of government, community housing organisations, and the private sector.
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