2021-22 Budget Analysis
The 21/22 Budget was presented as “the COVID Budget” with some extraordinary measures pitched as addressing growth, jobs, infrastructure and women. It continues or extends a range of measures from previous budgets (tax cuts, programs like Home Deposit Schemes) and does provide some additional funding into housing, which, from our perspective, will tend to pump inflationary pressure without addressing our underlying supply issues.
Media Release: Future Fund Would Establish a Supply Pipeline
National Shelter applauds the announcement by Opposition leader Anthony Albanese that Labor will establish an Australian Housing Future Fund to invest in social and affordable housing.
“Such a fund will create a pipeline of investment that can be built on to secure a steady growth in social and affordable housing.”
Media Release: Pumping up demand without adding to supply
In housing terms, Budget 21/22 dangerously adds pressure to markets while ignoring real needs in social and affordable housing.
“It pretends to help those who it may hurt the most - low-income households - predominantly women.” To read the full media release, click here.
Aboriginal Housing and Health Report
Shelter WA received a grant from the Australian Government Department of Health to undertake a review of Indigenous housing policy and programs, reviewing the intersection of housing and health policy, and to provide information on the policy changes required to deliver better housing and health outcomes. Shelter WA and National Shelter appointed PwC’s Indigenous Consulting Pty Limited.
A governance group was created in partnership with National Shelter and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Housing Association to oversee this project.
ABC News: Fears Australia’s housing crisis will worsen as affordable rental scheme winds down
Executive Officer Adrian weighed in on an ABC story talking about the end of the National Rental Affordability Scheme, lack of meetings with the Minister, and the need for national leadership on housing affordability. Read the story here.
Young Renters Hardest Hit: Moving On Report
The first findings of the national Moving On survey are out! The report shines a light on the experiences of private rental tenants, landlords and property managers across Australia to create a picture of how tenancies end in the private rental market and what changes are needed to make renting fairer. There is no available data set to inform the private rental market about the improvements that are needed.
Key Findings
- The pandemic affected tenants and landlords
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COVID-19: Rental housing and homelessness impacts
A report released as part of the UNSW-ACOSS Poverty and Inequality Partnership, and supported by Mission Australia, National Shelter and Queensland Shelter, looks at the domains of rental housing and homelessness and how they have been impacted by COVID-19.
Pre-Budget Submission 2021-22
National Shelter has released its Budget Submission for 2021/22; in it we welcome the Federal Government’s consolidation of housing responsibilities into a single Housing Minister - The Hon Michael Sukkar MP, and we look forward to an opportunity to meet the Minister to outline our submission in the near future and discuss the need for federal investment. The principal asks remain:
- Federal support for the SHARP proposal and the Housing Booster (affordable housing supply subsidy) project
- The need for tax