Overview

Assistance provided by governments and community organisations is available to eligible Australians who may have difficulties securing stable and affordable housing—this support is collectively referred to as housing assistance.

More reports and statistics on housing assistance can be found under Homelessness services.

Latest findings

Tenants gain multiple benefits from living in social housing, including feeling more settled and managing rent better Satisfaction rose significantly for public housing tenants in the Northern Territory—from 72% in 2014 to 79% in 2018 3 in 4 social housing tenants Australia-wide were satisfied with services provided by their housing organisation More than 23,000 (1 in 28) Indigenous Australians were homeless on Census night 2016 3 in 4 public housing tenants and 4 in 5 community housing tenants were satisfied with their housing services Satisfaction is closely related to the condition of tenants’ homes: as structural problems rise, satisfaction falls Since 2001, Indigenous home ownership has risen 6 percentage points to 38% of Indigenous households in 2016 Nearly 4 in 10 social housing tenants say their home is not comfortable in the heat or cold 2 in 3 tenants living in state owned and managed Indigenous housing were satisfied with their housing services Social housing tenants in Queensland had the highest satisfaction rate in 2018 (85%)

Latest reports

See all reports

Highlights

396,100households were in social housing in 2016–17
4% to 24%of social housing dwellings were overcrowded in 2016–17
108%increase in the number of mainstream community housing dwellings between 2008–09 and 2016–17
189,000applicants were on waiting lists for social housing as at 30 June 2017