AIHW media releases

The latest release from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), Housing assistance in Australia, shows the proportion of households living in social housing decreased from 4.7% in 2008 to 4.1% in 2023. 

‘While there was a steady increase in the actual number of households living in social housing over the decade and a half to mid-2023, social housing has not kept pace with the growth in the overall number of households in Australia,’ said AIHW spokesperson Nikki Schroder. 

In the years from 2008 to 2023, the number of social housing households increased from 379,000 to 423,000. Over this same period, the total number of households in Australia also increased from 8.0 million to 10.3 million households.

Around 824,000 Australians were living in the nation’s main social housing programs in 2022–23. The majority (67%) lived in public housing, with almost one-quarter (24%) in community housing and around 6% in state owned and managed Indigenous housing (SOMIH).

There were around 446,000 social housing dwellings across Australia at June 2023, an increase of 0.6% since June 2022. 

Households considered to be in greatest need, such as people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, spent less time waiting to be allocated social housing than other households. In 2022–23, 79% of new public housing and SOMIH social housing allocations were to those in greatest need (for example, people experiencing homelessness or a person’s safety was threatened within their existing accommodation), most commonly waiting less than 3 months.

In terms of financial assistance, about 1.3 million individuals or groups of related persons received Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA) at the end of June 2023.

‘Of those receiving CRA, around 533,000 (43%) were in rental stress, where rental costs are more than 30% of gross income. Without CRA, an additional 345,000 individuals or groups of related persons would have been in rental stress,’ Ms. Schroder said. 

When other characteristics are explored, such as the type of primary income support payment, some groups are more likely to be in rental stress after receiving CRA. 

Among individuals or groups of related persons receiving CRA:

• Over 4 in 5 (84% or 32,100) receiving Youth Allowance (Student and Apprentice) were in rental stress. 
• Almost 2 in 3 (63% or 163,000) also receiving JobSeeker were in rental stress.
• Around 1 in 3 receiving an Age Pension (34% or 106,000) were in rental stress.

The AIHW also publishes information on social housing tenant satisfaction. The National social housing survey 2023 report, released in May 2024, described that 2 in 3 tenants (69%) were satisfied with the overall services provided by their social housing organisation. Also, satisfaction was closely related to the condition of tenants’ homes – as the number of structural problems increased (for example: major electrical or plumbing problems, cracks in walls, major roof problems), satisfaction fell.

Housing assistance in Australia provides detailed information on state and territory government funded social housing and targeted financial assistance for housing to eligible Australians. Data are released annually, with this release providing the most up-to-date information relating to the 2022–23 period.

Media enquiries: Jasmine Dempsey, AIHW: Mob: 0412 024 325

For embargoed media copies of the report: [email protected]