Social housing data
Data on people seeking and receiving social housing assistance in either community housing or dwellings managed by state and territory housing authorities are collected by the AIHW. These data are used for a variety of performance reporting and analysis purposes including being provided to the Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision.
Data were provided by all states and territories and funded by the Housing Ministers’ Advisory Committee and the AIHW. The AIHW would like to thank the Housing and Homelessness Information Management Group for its direction in preparing this data and the Housing Ministers Advisory Committee for funding this work. The AIHW would also like to acknowledge the efforts and cooperation of the data providers at each state and territory housing authority and participating community housing organisations.
Summary data items, performance indicators and associated specifications are provided below for:
Housing assistance programs and published statistics
Data repository
The National Housing Assistance Data Repository contains nationally consistent housing data sets such as the housing National Minimum Data Set (NMDS) and the National Social Housing Survey (NSHS). Its main purpose is to contribute to performance reporting under the Commonwealth State Housing Agreement (CSHA).
The current specifications for the Public housing NMDS and the State owned and managed Indigenous housing NMDS are available by emailing housing@aihw.gov.au.
Accessing the data repository
The repository can be accessed by government agencies, community organisations, research organisations and individuals. The application process will vary according to the applicant and the type of information they are seeking.
General inquiries can be made to the Data Custodian, tel. 61 2 6244 1073 or email