Key data quality information

The AIHW plays a role in developing and maintaining national metadata standards. This work contributes to improving the quality and consistency of national health and welfare statistics. The AIHW works closely with governments and non-government organisations to achieve greater adherence to these standards in administrative data collections to promote national consistency and comparability of data and reporting.

One of the main functions of the AIHW is to work with the states and territories to improve the quality of administrative data and to compile, analyse and disseminate national data sets based on data from each jurisdiction.

The Housing Assistance in Australia report draws on key data from the AIHW National Housing Assistance Data Repository and Australian Government Housing Dataset.

Data compiled and used in the report are sourced from:

  • Public housing and State owned and managed Indigenous housing: from state/territory housing authority administrative systems.
  • Community housing: by state/territory housing authorities from community organisations and/or administrative records held by them. Data are incomplete for some states and territories due to non-reporting or under-reporting by organisations.
  • Indigenous community housing: from state/territory housing authority administrative systems; dwelling audits conducted by states and territories; and, from Indigenous community housing organisations through data collection tools. Data are incomplete for some states and territories due to non-reporting or under-reporting by organisations.
  • Private Rent Assistance and Home Purchase Assistance: are compiled from the AIHW National Housing Assistance Data Repository. These data are sourced from state/territory housing authority administrative systems.
  • Commonwealth Rent Assistance: data are derived from the Australian Government Housing Data Set. This is an administrative dataset provided to the AIHW by the Department of Social Services.

Data Quality Statements are developed for each data set and made available on the AIHW Metadata Online Registry (METEOR).

Further information regarding the data quality of each collection is available as follows:

Data quality

There are range of data quality issues such as the following. Caveats in the published data tables describe the salient issues important for interpretation of the data.

  • The administrative data sets from which these collections are drawn have inaccuracies to varying degrees including missing data, out-of-date data and data coding or recording errors.
  • Some information may be self-identified and/or not reported under eligibility requirements for some programs (for example, Indigenous status and disability information).
  • Not all states and territories or organisations capture and report all data items – data may not be collected and reported in a manner consistent with national data definitions. In addition, substitution may be required to calculate some outputs of the housing collections.
  • Data for individual states and territories may not be comparable across reporting periods, nor with other social housing sectors due to changes in systems and processes which have led to differences in the accuracy, completeness and/or coverage of data over time.
  • Historical data may have been updated and therefore differ from previous publications.

Comparing Census and administrative data about social housing

Estimates of social housing are also available from the ABS Census of Population and Housing and ABS surveys.

The 4 social housing data collections are administrative by-product data that provide annual point-in-time information on the number of households across Australia living in housing provided through each of the respective programs.

The Census, which is conducted by the ABS every 5 years, provides point-in-time data at the census date (with the 2021 Census pertaining to 10 August 2021). However, rather than provide information by social housing program, it distinguishes between the two types of social housing providers: state and territory governments, and the community sector.

The main discrepancies between the data sources are:

  • Self-report errors in census data as the respondent may not correctly categorise landlord type, and as a result, incorrectly indicate a type of housing other than social housing.
  • Incomplete census data potentially due to respondent fatigue or inability to answer the landlord type question.
  • The categories reported in the census (and other ABS surveys) and outlined below, do not align well with the 4 social housing types:
    • Real estate agent
    • Government Housing Authority/Housing Department (Public Housing)
    • Parent/other relative not in this dwelling
    • Other person not in this dwelling
    • Residential park (including caravan parks and marinas)
    • Employer – Government (including Defence Housing Authority)
    • Employer – Private
    • Housing co-operative; Community or Church Group

Changes in housing stock

There have been considerable changes to the composition of social housing stock among the four programs, including the transfer of ownership and/or management of public housing dwelling stock to community housing organisations, involving:

  • 4,100 dwellings from public housing and SOMIH to community housing in South Australia between 2018 and 2019.
  • 11,200 dwellings from public housing and SOMIH to community housing in New South Wales between 2018 and 2019.
  • Around 5,000 dwellings from Indigenous community housing to NT remote public housing between 2008 and 2010.
  • Around 5,000 NT remote public housing dwellings to the SOMIH program in 2017.
  • Over 2,000 Tasmanian public housing dwellings to community housing between 2021 and 2022.

If making jurisdictional comparisons over time, please read the relevant data quality statements to ensure all these changes are considered in the analysis.

Waiting lists

In all states and territories, access to social housing is managed through the use of waiting lists with priority given to those considered to be high priority applicants (see Priority Groups). All jurisdictions have an integrated waitlist across social housing programs. Waitlist data are provided separately for each social housing program applied for by a household. In some cases, this reflects the eligibility criteria for each different housing program. People/households may be on the waitlist for more than one program, therefore, households should not be summed across housing programs.

Fluctuations in the number of people on waiting lists are not necessarily measures of changes in underlying demand for social housing. Factors that may influence the length of waiting lists include changes to allocation policies, priorities, and eligibility criteria put in place by state/territory housing authorities, as well as their implementation (Dockery et al. 2008).

Applicants eligible for social housing may not apply due to the associated length of the waitlist and associated time to be allocated a dwelling, or the lack of available dwellings in their preferred location (Muir et al. 2020). In some states/territories, applicants may be on more than one waiting list, as lists are held by each program. As such, combined figures could be an overestimate of total households on social housing waitlists.

For further details, see the Data quality statements.

Time waited for social housing allocation

The method used to calculate the amount of time waited for a housing allocation varies depending on household priority status. For households in greatest need, the time waited is calculated from the date applicants were determined to be of greatest need (priority group status) and the amount of time that passed before they were allocated housing. In other words, time waited is the amount of time between the greatest need determination and housing allocation.

However, for households not in greatest need, the time waited is calculated from the housing application date to housing allocation – this includes special needs only households. Hence, the time waited is measured here as the amount of time between the housing application and housing allocation.

Data on time waited for housing allocation were unavailable for both community housing and Indigenous community housing.

Households that exited or transferred

For most states/territories social housing 'exits' refers to households that have exited a specific housing program during the reference year. Households that relocate within the same housing program are not considered ‘exits’ but are instead known as ‘transfers’.

However, for Queensland data, ‘exits’ refer to households that have exited from social housing to either private rental or private ownership etc. Households that transfer not only within a specific housing program but also from one social housing program to another are known as transfers.

Priority groups

Social housing is generally allocated according to priority needs, with allocations made based on identifying those people with the greatest need (such as applicants experiencing homelessness) and those with special needs for housing assistance (such as applicants with disability).

Disability status

There are differences between the states and territories in how disability status is classified. Disability may be based on self-reported disability or receipt of a disability support pension as a proxy for reported disability. These items may not be equivalent indicators of disability. Using self‑reported disability status only may lead to under-reporting or misreporting of a household’s disability status.

Greatest need households

Public housing, SOMIH and community housing programs prioritise household allocations through priority waiting lists, such as the greatest need waiting list. The criteria for priority needs varies between jurisdictions, so any comparisons between states and territories must be exercised with caution.

Greatest need applies to households if, at the time of allocation, household members were subject to one or more of the following circumstances:

  • they were experiencing homelessness
  • they were at risk of homelessness, including:
    • their life or safety was threatened within existing accommodation
    • a health condition was exacerbated by existing accommodation
    • their existing accommodation was inappropriate to their needs
    • they were experiencing very high rental costs.

For more information, see METEOR.

Classifications for greatest need are not consistent across the states and territories, however, the states and territories map these data to an AIHW standard as defined in METEOR.

Special needs households

Households seeking social housing often have members with special needs. Some households may have one or more members with multiple special needs. The definition of special needs differs across the different social housing programs and between jurisdictions.

For public housing, special needs households include those with:

  • a member with disability,
  • a main tenant younger than 25 years or older than 75 years, or
  • one or more members who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.

As SOMIH is an Indigenous targeted program, Indigenous households in SOMIH are not considered special needs households. For SOMIH, special needs households are only those that have:

  • a member with disability or
  • a main tenant under 25 years or over 50 years.
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