Occupants
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Key findings
- Around 830,000 occupants were living in Australia’s main social housing programs. The majority (65%) were in public housing.
- Most social housing occupants resided in Australia’s 3 most populous states; around one-third lived in New South Wales, and almost one-fifth lived in Victoria and Queensland respectively.
- Over a third of occupants were aged 55 and over in public housing and community housing, but only around 1 in 7 occupants were in this age group in SOMIH.
- Around 130,000 First Nations people were living in public housing and SOMIH.
Occupants are defined as people living in any housing provided by Australia’s four main social housing programs: public housing, state owned and managed Indigenous housing (SOMIH), community housing and Indigenous community housing, within the reference year to 30 June (see data quality statements for exceptions).
Occupants in social housing
Around 830,000 occupants were living in Australia’s main social housing programs. The majority (65%) were in public housing.
Of the 830,000 social housing occupants in 2023–24 (Table OCCUPANTS.1):
- 65% (544,000 people) were in public housing
- 23% (195,000 people) were in community housing
- 6.2% (51,700 people) were in SOMIH
- 4.8% (40,200 people) were in Indigenous community housing.
State and territory
Most social housing occupants resided in Australia’s 3 most populous states; around one-third lived in New South Wales, and almost one-fifth lived in Victoria and Queensland respectively.
The number of occupants in each social housing program generally reflected the housing options available within the respective states. In all states except for Tasmania and the Northern Territory, most occupants were in public housing, followed by community housing. In Tasmania, most occupants were in community housing, while in the Northern Territory, most were living in SOMIH (Table OCCUPANTS.1). Note that community housing and Indigenous community housing data were unavailable for the Northern Territory.
Age and sex of occupants
Over one third of occupants were aged 55 and over in public housing and community housing, around 1 in 7 occupants were in this age group in SOMIH.
Females made up 55% of the occupants in social housing programs, including public housing (302,000 occupants), SOMIH (28,500) and community housing (108,000). Data were not available for Indigenous community housing.
Occupants in public housing and community housing had a similar age profile in 2023–24 (Figure OCCUPANTS.1; Table OCCUPANTS.2):
- Over one-third of occupants in public housing (38%) and community housing (34%) were aged 55 years and over.
- Around 1 in 3 occupants in both public housing (32%) and community housing (33%) were under the age of 25.
The age profile of SOMIH occupants was younger compared with public housing and community housing occupants. This may reflect the age structure of the First Nations population in general (AIHW 2024a). Almost half of the occupants (48%) were aged under 25 including about a third (28%) who were aged 0–14. In contrast, 15% were aged 55 or over (Figure OCCUPANTS.1; Table OCCUPANTS.2).
Figure OCCUPANTS.1: Household members by social housing program, age, and sex, 2023–24
The chart shows the highest number of occupants in social housing were aged 10–14; in public and community housing females aged 60–64 and males 10–14 were the largest groups by sex.
The butterfly graph shows the age profile of male and female occupants in three social housing programs (public housing, community housing and SOMIH). In 2023–24, the highest number of female (23,000) occupants in public housing were aged 60–64 years, and the highest number of males (23,000) were aged 10–14 years. For SOMIH, the highest number of female (3,200) and male (3,300) household members were aged 10–14 years. For community housing, the highest number of females were aged 60–64 (7,400) and the highest number of males were aged 10–14 (7,100).
First Nations occupants in social housing
Around 130,000 First Nations people were living in public housing and SOMIH in 2023–24.
Of the 130,000 First Nations occupants in 2023–24 (Table OCCUPANTS.3):
- 84,300 lived in public housing
- 45,500 lived in SOMIH.
Changes over time
The total number of First Nations occupants across public housing and SOMIH has grown since 2017–18. The overall growth has mainly been driven by increases in the occupants of public housing, noting that the number of occupants with an unknown Indigenous status has declined over this time.
Occupants’ satisfaction with social housing
In the 2023 National Social Housing Survey, more than 2 in 3 (69%) occupants reported that they were satisfied with the overall services provided by their social housing organisation (AIHW 2024b), a decrease from 73% in 2021 (AIHW 2022). In 2023, around 80% of tenants reported economic, health and social benefits from living in social housing.
For both 2021 and 2023, structural problems were a highly significant factor in tenant satisfaction. The more structural problems a tenant had with their social housing dwelling, the less likely the tenant will be satisfied. Within each housing program, tenants living in a dwelling with one or more structural problems were less likely to be satisfied than those without.
More information about the analyses and occupants’ satisfaction with amenities, locations and services as well as the economic, health and social benefits of social housing, can be found in the National Social Housing Survey 2023.
AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) (2024a) Profile of First Nations people, AIHW, Australian Government, accessed 24 March 2025.
AIHW (2024b) National Social Housing Survey 2023, AIHW, Australian Government, accessed on 24 March 2025.
AIHW (2022) National Social Housing Survey 2021, AIHW, Australian Government, accessed on 24 March 2025.