An estimated 372,000 Australian households lived in public
rental, Indigenous rental or community housing provided under the
Commonwealth-State Housing Agreement during 2003-04, according to
three new reports released today by the Australian Institute of
Health and Welfare (AIHW).
The reports show that 336,000 households, representing 5% of
households overall, received assistance through mainstream public
rental housing.
There were about 24,000 households receiving assistance through
community housing managed by non-profit providers or local
government, and 12,000 households receiving assistance through
state owned and managed Indigenous housing during 2003-04.
Programs funded under the Commonwealth-State Housing Agreement
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 31,000 households were allocated public housing for the first
time during 2003-04, and that more than half (54%) were categorised
as having 'special needs'.
'These are most 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
suitable modified housing,' Mr Wilson said.
'Of the 31,000 new allocations, just over 3,600, or around 12%
of all new allocations, were made to Indigenous households.
'Similarly, over 900, or 15%, of the 6,100 new households
provided with community housing under the CSHA during 2003-04 were
Indigenous households.'
More than 1600 new households were allocated state owned and
managed Indigenous housing from the waiting list in 2003-04.
Of the 12,700 state owned and managed Indigenous housing
dwellings, more than one-third were in major cities; 22% were in
inner regional areas, 26% in outer regional areas, and 18% in
remote and very remote areas.
'These reports, which are on the three largest programs
administered under the CSHA, also show us that public and community
housing are increasingly being targeted to low income households
that have additional needs that cannot be met by the private rental
market,' Mr Wilson said.
'And tenants in general are mostly satisfied with the services
being provided-68% of public rental housing tenants nationwide and
77% of community housing tenants said they were either "satisfied"
or "very satisfied". No figures on tenant satisfaction were
available for state owned and managed Indigenous housing.'
Reports: Commonwealth-State Housing Agreement National Data
Reports 2003-04:
- Public rental housing
- CSHA community housing
- State owned and managed Indigenous housing
21 January 2005
Further information: David Wilson, AIHW, tel.
02 6244 1202, or mobile 0419 251 763.
For media copies of the report: Publications
Officer, AIHW, tel. 02 6244 1032.
Availability: Check the AIHW Publications
Catalogue for availability of Commonwealth-State Housing
Agreement National Data Reports 2003-04: Public Rental
Housing, January 2005;
Check the AIHW
Publications Catalogue for availability of
Commonwealth-State Housing Agreement National Data Reports
2003-04: State Owned and Managed Indigenous Housing, January
2005;
Check the AIHW
Publications Catalogue for availability of
Commonwealth-State Housing Agreement National Data Reports
2003-04: CSHA Community Housing, January 2005.