Housing assistance

Australian Government housing data set

Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

Australian Tax Office

A defined level for each variable (factor) included in the regression model, chosen as a point of reference for other categories within each factor. For example, in the factor housing program, the base case is PH. For more information see Identifying key factors within the Key factors associated with tenant satisfaction page.

A measure of the appropriateness of housing that is sensitive to both household size and composition. The CNOS specifies that:

• no more than 2 people shall share a bedroom
• parents or couples may share a bedroom
• children under 5, either of the same sex or opposite sex, may share a bedroom
• children under 18 of the same sex may share a bedroom
• a child aged 5–17 should not share a bedroom with a child under 5 of the opposite sex
• single adults 18 and over and any unpaired children require a separate bedroom.

See community housing

See community housing organisation

See Canadian National Occupancy Standard

CRA is a non-taxable payment, generally paid fortnightly to eligible recipients as part of a recipient’s primary payment rate. To be eligible, families or individuals paying private rent must:

• be in receipt of a social security or veterans’ income support payment and/or more than the base rate of Family Tax Benefit Part A, and
• pay or be liable to pay more than the specified rent thresholds.

Certain social housing tenants are eligible for CRA, such as those living in community housing or Indigenous community housing. CRA is not generally payable to public housing and state owned and managed Indigenous housing (SOMIH) tenants as state and territory housing authorities already subsidise rent for these tenants.

Housing provided for low- to moderate-income or special needs households, which community-based organisations manage. Community housing models vary across jurisdictions and a variety of groups, including government, own the housing stock.

A not-for-profit organisation that provides safe, secure, affordable and appropriate rental housing.

See Commonwealth Rent Assistance

A structure or a discrete space within a structure intended for people to live in or where a person or group of people live. Thus, a structure that people live in is a dwelling regardless of its intended purpose, but a vacant structure is a dwelling only if intended for human residence. A dwelling may include one or more rooms that is/are used as an office or workshop, provided the dwelling is in residential use. Dwelling types include:

• a separate house
• a semi-detached, row or terrace house, townhouse, etc.
• a flat, unit or apartment; caravan, tent, cabin etc. either in or not in a caravan park, houseboat in marina, etc.
• an improvised home, tent, camper
• a house or flat attached to a shop, office, etc.
• a boarding/rooming house unit. 

A measure of income that reflects economic wellbeing relative to household size and composition. It is used to determine low-income status for a household.

An amenity or piece of equipment provided in a home for a particular purpose. See also working facility

A household that contains one or more Indigenous Australians. Also referred to as an Indigenous household.

An assessment applying to a household if, at the time of allocation, household members were subject to one or more of the following circumstances that prioritises them for housing assistance:

• they were homeless
• their life or safety was at risk in their accommodation
• their health condition was aggravated by their housing
• their housing was inappropriate for their needs.

A form of government financial assistance administered by each state and territory. This assistance includes a range of financial assistance for eligible households to improve their access to, and maintain, home ownership. Home purchase assistance may vary from state to state, and some products are not offered by all states and territories. Home Purchase Assistance can include:

• direct lending
• concessional loans
• mortgage relief
• interest rate assistance
• deposit assistance
• other assistance grants.

Based on the ABS statistical definition, ‘homelessness’ is the state of a person who does not have suitable accommodation alternatives and whose current living arrangement:

• is in a dwelling that is inadequate (i.e., is unfit for human habitation or lacks basic facilities such as kitchen facilities and bathroom)
• has no tenure, or if their initial tenure is short and not extendable
• does not allow them to have control of, and access to space for social relations (including personal or household living space
• ability to maintain privacy and exclusive access to kitchen and bathroom facilities) (ABS 2018).

For the Specialist Homelessness Services collection (SHSC), a person is experiencing homelessness if they are:

• in non-conventional accommodation or 'sleeping rough'
• living in short-term or emergency accommodation due to a lack of other options.

For the greatest need definition, homeless includes persons who:

• lived in accommodation provided by an SHSC agency or some other form of emergency accommodation
• were totally without permanent shelter (for example, wandered from place to place, slept out on the street or on park benches, etc)
• lived in shelter that was unlawful (for example, squatting in derelict buildings)
• stayed temporarily with friends or relatives (for example, up to a maximum of 6 weeks)
• exited care (for example hospital, prison, out-of-home care).

A household can be either:

• A single person living in a dwelling who makes provision for their own food and other essentials for living.
• A group of 2 or more related or unrelated people who usually reside in the same dwelling, and who make common provision for food or other essentials for living.

Household composition refers to the way people are grouped within a dwelling. This can include single-family households, or mixed households. The characteristics of which are:

• A single-family household contains a main tenant only, or a main tenant residing with a partner and/or the main tenant’s children.
• Group households consist of 2 or more tenants aged 16 or over who are not in a couple or parent–child relationship.
• Mixed households are households not described by the other 2 types – for example, multiple single-family households.

The cost of housing compared with the financial situation of a household. Housing affordability is often measured by the proportion of households in financial housing stress.

The movement of people due to a change in their place of usual residence. Housing mobility may occur due to changes in tenure arrangements, such as from rental to homeownership, or moving from one geographic location to another for various housing, employment or lifestyle reasons.

A measure of housing affordability related to the proportion of household income spent on basic housing costs.

Housing tenure refers to the legal and financial arrangements under which a person occupies a home. Tenure describes whether a person owns or rents their home and the specific terms of that arrangement.

Indigenous Business Australia

See Indigenous community housing

See Indigenous community housing organisation

One person or a group of related persons within a household, whose command over income is shared, or any person living in a non-private dwelling who is in receipt of personal income.

Housing that Indigenous communities own and/or manage for the provision of housing services to First Nations people. These organisations may either directly manage the dwellings they own or sublease tenancy management services to the relevant state/territory housing authority or another organisation. This housing is made available to households with at least one Indigenous occupant. ICH is provided in all states and territories except the Australian Capital Territory.

Any Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander organisation that is responsible for managing housing for First Nations people. This includes community organisations such as resource agencies and land councils, which have a range of functions, provided that they manage housing for First Nations people. It may also include tenancies managed by a state/territory housing authority. ICHOs may either own the dwellings they manage or lease them from a state/territory housing authority.

A scheme that is available to help First Nations people buy their first home.

Individual risk factors are personal circumstances that increase the likelihood of homelessness and housing instability, such as mental illness, substance use, unemployment, family breakdown, or trauma.

A household whose equivalised gross income is in the bottom two-fifths (40%) of the population. This measure does not necessarily indicate eligibility for government assistance targeted at low-income households, and assistance may also be provided to households that do not meet this definition.

The ‘main tenant’ is used as the basis for the identification of income units and families and the classification of the household. It can also be referred to as Person 1 or Tenant 1 on application or tenancy forms, or the principal tenant, household head or the mortgagee.

A household that was newly allocated social housing in the financial year.

National Social Housing survey

A situation in a dwelling where one or more additional bedrooms are required for a household to meet the Canadian National Occupancy Standard.

Productivity Commission

See public housing

See private rent assistance

A new tenancy that is provided to individuals classified as being in greatest need.

A form of government assistance administered by each state and territory. It includes a range of financial assistance to low-income households experiencing difficulty securing or maintaining private rental accommodation. Private Rent Assistance is usually provided as a one-off form of support – such as bond loans and rental grants – but can also include ongoing rental subsidies and payment of relocation expenses.

Rental housing that state and territory governments provide and manage. Included are households residing in public rental dwellings where the dwelling is either:

• owned by the housing authority
• leased from the private sector or other housing program areas and used to provide housing to public housing tenants.

See remoteness area

A household receiving housing assistance (usually through a state or territory or community housing provider) that pays less than the market rent value of the dwelling.

A hypothetical group of tenants with all the base case characteristics combined. The group, along with its predicted probability of being satisfied, is used as a point of reference for regression analysis results. For more information see Identifying key factors within the Key factors associated with tenant satisfaction page. Also known as client group.

A statistical technique that identifies significant relationships between variables (characteristics or factors) and an outcome, after simultaneously accounting for the confounding effects of other factors. The regression analysis used in this report identifies relationships between housing, demographic and geographic factors and tenant satisfaction.

The situation of a household whose housing costs are more than 30% of the gross household income.

The percentage of tenants who were satisfied or very satisfied with services provided by their housing organisations, in relation to either overall housing services, day-to-day maintenance services or emergency maintenance services.

Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision

Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers

Rental housing that is funded or partly funded by government, and that is owned or managed by the government or a community organisation and let to eligible persons. This includes:

• public housing
• state owned and managed Indigenous housing
• community housing
• Indigenous community housing.

State owned and managed Indigenous housing

A descriptor for those households that have a member with disability, a main tenant aged under 25 or 75 and over (50 and over for SOMIH), or households defined as First Nations households. First Nations households in SOMIH are not considered special needs households as SOMIH is a First Nations people-targeted program.

State owned and managed Indigenous housing (SOMIH) is social housing administered by state and territory governments targeted specifically at low- to moderate-income households that have at least one occupant who identifies as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin.

For public housing, SOMIH and community housing data collections, a unit of accommodation for which a rental agreement can be made. In most cases, there will be one tenancy (rental) unit within each dwelling; in some cases (for example, boarding houses, share houses, semi-institutional dwellings), there may be more than one tenancy (rental) unit.

A situation where a dwelling contains one or more bedrooms surplus to the needs of the household occupying it, according to the Canadian National Occupancy Standard.

An amenity or piece of equipment provided in a home for a particular purpose, in correct working order.