Evolve Housing recently hosted a launch and luncheon for residents in their new Victorian apartments in Ascot Vale.

Australia’s peak community housing industry body has endorsed the Federal budget’s commitment to electrification and energy performance in social housing alongside new incentives for build-to-rent projects, but warned there is still a way to go to tackle the mammoth challenge.

The Community Housing Industry Association welcomes more lower cost finance for the community housing sector. The Prime Minister on Friday announced the Affordable Housing Bond Aggregator’s liability cap will be expanded by $2 billion after CHIA called for the cap to be raised.

CHIA CEO Wendy Hayhurst said: “This is a welcome and important change that will make the
delivery of social and affordable housing easier.

“We welcome the government’s commitment to getting more social and affordable homes built in Australia.

Full media release here

Community Housing Industry Association (CHIA) is urging federal politicians to prioritise an agreement around the Housing Australia Future Fund and get on with building more social and affordable housing, as a new report highlights a desperate undersupply across the country.

Anglicare’s annual Rental Affordability Snapshot shows there are virtually no affordable rentals for a person relying on income support payments. For the first time, the snapshot shows less than one percent of rentals are affordable for a person working full-time on the minimum wage.

CHIA chief executive officer Wendy Hayhurst said the government’s Housing Australia Future Fund is a good start that needs to be established and then built upon.

Full media release here

An alarming new report demonstrates Australia faces deepening rental and housing stress with a looming shortfall of 106,000 dwellings by 2027, reinforcing the need to finalise a package of housing reforms currently before the Senate.

The State of the Nation’s Housing Report released today by the National Housing Finance and Investment
Corporation also conservatively estimates around 377,600 households are in housing need, comprising 331,000 households in rental stress and 46,500 households experiencing homelessness. According to the report, housing need across the country ranges from 208,200 households in highly acute rental stress to 577,400 households under less acute rental pressure.

Full media release here

The nation’s four peak housing and homelessness advocacy bodies are issuing a joint call for the Senate to pass a package of legislation that will begin tackling the housing crisis.
The joint call from the Community Housing Industry Association, National Shelter, Homelessness Australia and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Housing Association comes as Australia grapples with the worst housing crisis in decades.

Surging rents and rising interest rates are eroding household budgets. Last week’s release of ABS Census data showed a five per cent increase in the number of Australians experiencing homelessness, while UNSW City Futures Research Centre analysts have found 640,000 Australians are in housing stress with the number tipped to hit one million by 2041.

Full media release here

The high number of people experiencing homelessness in Australia highlights the need for urgent action to build more homes, says the Community Housing Industry Association.

ABS data published today shows that 122,494 people were estimated to be experiencing homelessness at the time of the 2021 Census, an increase of 6,067 people (5.2 per cent) since 2016.

The number of men experiencing homelessness increased by 1.6 per cent while the number of women increased by 10.1 per cent. Nearly a quarter (23 per cent) of all people experiencing homelessness were aged between 12 and 24 years.

With the homelessness rate remaining stubbornly high, urgent action is needed to improve access to affordable housing.

CHIA has supported the government’s Housing Australia Future Fund but believes more can be done to end rising homelessness for good.

“It is distressing that a nation as wealthy as Australia has so many people living without a place to call home,” said CHIA CEO Wendy Hayhurst. “The stats show that homelessness is disproportionately affecting young people and the sharp increase among women is shocking.

“We are now almost two years since the census and, with the rental market glowing red hot, it is sadly inevitable that the situation will have grown substantially worse

“The Housing Australia Future Fund is a great start that could be made even better by a regular top-up so that it generates a reliable, predictable source of funding for an ongoing social and affordable housing program.

“Because of our charitable status and excellent track record, Community Housing Organisations are well placed to deliver quality new homes at the best value to the taxpayer.”

CHIA research earlier this year found there are 640,000 Australian households whose housing needs are not being met, and this figure is projected to increase to 940,000 by 2041.

Full media release here

A new environmental, social and governance (ESG) standard for the community housing sector will be launched by the Housing Minister, the Hon. Julie Collins today.

The standard will provide a framework for Community Housing Providers (CHPs) to clearly report sustainability factors, helping providers to articulate their broad value and attract private sector investment to expand housing for people on low and modest incomes.

Full media release here

ESG Reporting standard here

Local government and community housing leaders are calling for urgent funding in the upcoming Federal Budget to address Australia’s affordable and social housing crisis.

The Australian Local Government Association (ALGA), with support from the Community Housing Industry Association (CHIA) and National Shelter, is seeking $100 million per year over four years that would assist councils to facilitate more affordable and social housing across the nation. a

ALGA Vice President Mayor Matt Burnett said Australia’s 537 councils play a key role in facilitating affordable and social housing but could do much more with better funding partnerships.

“As a signatory to the National Housing Accord, ALGA is working collaboratively towards a national response to the worsening housing crisis,” Mayor Burnett said.

“The Government has set an ambitious target of delivering one million new homes from 2024, but this needs to be supported with funding that will enable councils to invest in the physical and social infrastructure necessary for healthy communities.

“Many councils across the country are already investing in innovative affordable housing solutions tailored to the needs of their local communities but more support is needed.

Full media release here

Community housing organisations will have access to a veteran homelessness toolkit under a partnership between the Community Housing Industry Association and the Australian Government.

The toolkit will help organisations offer tailored support to veterans and their families and set an industry standard for providing housing services to veterans. It will also outline risk factors to veteran homelessness and referral pathways. Recent research found 5.3 per cent of veterans experience homelessness each year, compared to 1.9 per cent of the general population, with half homeless for more than four weeks and a quarter described as chronically homeless.

CHIA CEO Wendy Hayhurst said this initiative is a positive first step to tackling veteran homelessness.
“Improving housing access for veterans is essential because we know from research that more than a third of veterans who experienced homelessness did not know where to go for help,” she said.
“This great initiative will help providers develop a deep understanding of veteran homelessness so they can provide top-rate support to their residents.” Ms Hayhurst said the toolkit is the latest example of how CHOs and government departments are working together to improve outcomes for veterans.

Full media release here

Access the resources for veterans here

CHIA has today released a landmark report, along with UNSW City Futures Research Centre, Quantifying Australia’s unmet housing need: A regional snapshot

A national and regional snapshot, as well as an interactive dashboard which provides a detailed breakdown of households with unmet need, can be viewed here.

In an op-ed for The Australian today, Wendy Hayhurst, CEO, CHIA explains why funding the sector is a win for residents as well as taxpayers.