An estimated 383,800 Australian households lived in public
rental, Indigenous rental or community housing provided under the
Commonwealth-State national housing program during 2001-02,
according to three new reports released today by the Australian
Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
The reports show that at least 354,400 households received
assistance through mainstream public housing and the Aboriginal
Rental Housing Program during 2001-02, representing 6% of all
households.
In addition, the Commonwealth-State Housing Agreement (CSHA)
community housing assists about 29,000 households with rental
housing. The number of community houses in Australia is
small-representing less than half of 1% of all housing tenures.
Almost 37,000 households were newly allocated public housing
during 2001-02.
Programs funded under the CSHA are designed to help people whose
needs for appropriate housing cannot be met by the private
market.
Head of the AIHW's Housing Assistance Unit, David Wilson, said
that almost half (44%) of all public rental housing newly allocated
under the CSHA during 2001-02 were made to households who had
'special needs'.
'These are often people who have difficulty accessing
appropriate accommodation in the private rental market because of
discrimination or in the case of people with disabilities, lack of
appropriate housing to suit their needs,' Mr Wilson said.
'Of the new households allocated public rental housing in
Australia from 1 July 2001 to 30 June 2002, 3,500 allocations were
made to Indigenous households, representing 9.5% of all new
allocations.
'Similarly, 3,000 of the 20,600 new households provided with
community housing under the CSHA during 2001-02 were to Indigenous
households, representing 15% of all new households assisted.
There were almost 12,000 Indigenous households under the
Aboriginal rental housing program in dwellings owned and managed by
the States and Territories. Of these, 42% of housing were located
in rural centres, 30% in capital cities, 20% in remote centres and
7% in other metropolitan areas.
More than 1700 Indigenous households were newly allocated
housing under the Aboriginal rental housing program in 2001-02.
'These three reports show us that public and community housing
are being increasingly targeted to low income households that have
additional needs that cannot be met by the private rental
market.'
2 May 2003
Further information: David Wilson, AIHW, tel.
02 6244 1202
For media copies of the report: Publications
Officer, AIHW, tel. 02 6244 1032
Availability: Check the AIHW Publications
Catalogue for availability of CSHA
National Data Reports 2001-02: Aboriginal Rental Housing
Program, Public
Rental Housing, and Community
Housing reports.