Housing assistance in Australia

Quick facts

• During 2020–21, 29,900 households were newly allocated public housing, community housing and SOMIH dwellings, a decrease from 34,100 new allocations in 2019–20.
• The majority of new housing allocations were provided to those in greatest need; 81% of new housing allocations in public housing, 65% in SOMIH and 86% in community housing.
• For public housing, more than half (58%, or around 7,000 households) of the newly allocated greatest need households were experiencing homelessness prior to commencing their public housing tenancy in 2020–21. A further 33% were at risk of homelessness.
• Households in greatest need spent less time on waiting lists than other households. Around 3 in 4 greatest need households (76%, or 9,300 households) received public housing within one year of the household being on the waiting list, compared to 2 in 5 households without greatest need status (41% or 1,200).

During a period of time, people may be allocated social housing, exit a social housing program, or move from one social housing dwelling to another within the same program (Figure ENTRIES.1). This section presents key data on these entries, exits and transfers.

Data on entries, exits and transfers for Indigenous community housing were not available.

Figure ENTRIES.1: Entries, exits and ongoing households

Households entering social housing

Allocating social housing to eligible applicants depends on their level of priority (based on need) and dwelling availability. Applicants access to social housing are managed through waiting lists. Generally, when an appropriate dwelling is available, it is offered to high priority applicants first (such as those deemed greatest need or special needs households; see definitions below). The criteria determining applicant eligibility and priority, however, varies by the policies and procedures set by providers in each jurisdiction at a given time. Accordingly, caution must be exercised when making comparisons between states and territories. 

Similar to the previous year, the total number of newly allocated households (also referred to as new entries) decreased across public housing, community housing and SOMIH in 2020–21 to 29,900, compared with 2019–20. Of the 29,900 newly allocated households in 2020–21, more than half were allocated public housing (51% or 15,200 households); followed by community housing with 46% (or 13,700 households) and SOMIH with 3% (or 1,000 households) which is similar to the stock profiles of each housing program (Figure Entries.2, Table HOUSEHOLDS.10). For public housing, all states and territories except the Northern Territory had fewer newly allocated households in 2020–21 compared to all years since 2013–14.

Between 2011–12 and 2017–18, the number of new entries into public housing were consistently over 20,000 but in more recent years, the number of new entries into public housing has been declining. For community housing, the number of newly allocated households has varied over time, partly because of dwellings transfers from public housing to community housing in NSW in 2018–19 and South Australia in 2017–18. Like public housing, however, the number has decreased in recent years, with 15,100 and 13,700 newly allocated households in 2019–20 and 2020–21, respectively (Figure Entries.2, Table HOUSEHOLDS.10).

Figure ENTRIES.2: Ongoing households, newly allocated households and exited households, by public housing and SOMIH, 2011–12 to 2020–21

For SOMIH, the number of newly allocated households were lower than previous years, with 1,000 in 2020–21 compared to 1,100 in 2019–20, respectively (Figure ENTRIES.2; Table HOUSEHOLDS.10).

Characteristics of newly allocated households

For public housing, newly allocated households during 2020–21 were mostly low income (95%) and single adults (58%) households. Other key features of newly allocated households in public housing for 2020–21 include (Table HOUSEHOLDS.12):

• the main tenant was female in over half of the households (55% female)
• Over 1 in 4 households were Indigenous (27%)
• For almost 3 in 10 (29%) households, the main tenant was aged 55 and over, compared with 1 in 5 (20%) households with a main tenant aged 29 and under.
• Over a third (36%) of households had a member with disability.

For SOMIH, newly allocated households were most commonly low income (97%) and group and mixed composition households (41%). In contrast to public housing, only 13% of newly allocated households in SOMIH were single adults and 70% of main tenants were female (Table HOUSEHOLDS.10).

Data on the characteristics of newly allocated households for community housing and Indigenous community housing were not available.

Housing features of new allocations

Housing features of new allocations differed between public housing and SOMIH. The different profiles of new allocations by housing features partly reflect the differences in the number of dwelling type stock between the programs. In 2020–21, newly allocated households in the public housing program were more likely to be dwellings with fewer bedrooms (40% were 1 bedroom, 30% were 2 bedrooms, 25% were 3 bedrooms and 4% were 4 or more bedrooms) compared to SOMIH (3% were 1 bedroom, 18% were 2 bedrooms, 57% were 3 bedrooms and 18% were 4 or more bedrooms) (Table HOUSEHOLDS.14).

Priority groups

Allocation to social housing is determined by policies regarding eligibility, priority groups and entitlement (such as type and location of the property) (Powell et al. 2019). Although income remains the primary eligibility factor for social housing allocation, allocations are also based on an applicant’s circumstances, that is, their need for social housing relative to others on the waiting list (Pawson et al. 2020).

While social housing allocations were historically targeted towards households with a lower income, over time, the social housing policies have increasingly focused on supporting vulnerable and complex need applicants, such as applicants experiencing trauma, disadvantage and/or financial instability (Groenhart et al. 2014; Pawson et al, 2020).

As a result, social housing is generally allocated according to priority needs, with allocations made on the basis of identifying those people with the greatest need (such as applicants experiencing homelessness) and those with special needs for housing assistance (such as applicants with disability).

Data on household need status for Indigenous community housing were not available.

Greatest need households

Public housing, SOMIH and community housing programs prioritise household allocations through priority waiting lists, such as the greatest need waiting list. The criteria for priority needs varies between jurisdictions, so any comparisons between states and territories must be exercised with caution.

Special needs households

Households seeking social housing often have members with special needs. Some households may have one or more members with multiple special needs. The definition of special needs differs across the different social housing programs and between jurisdictions.

New allocations for Greatest need households

Greatest need households accounted for 81% (or 12,300 households) of all newly allocated public housing households in 2020–21 (Figure ENTRIES.3; Table HOUSEHOLDS.15).

Figure ENTRIES.3: Newly allocated households by greatest need status and social housing program, 2009–10 to 2020–21

Almost two thirds (65% or 300) of newly allocated SOMIH households were households with greatest need status in 2020–21 (excludes Tasmania and the Northern Territory, as greatest need data were not available) (Figure ENTRIES.3; Table HOUSEHOLDS.15). The proportion of newly allocated SOMIH households with greatest need status was around 60% from 2016–17 to 2018–19 but increased by about 5 percentage points to 65% in 2019–20; where it remained in 2020–21.

Main reason for greatest need

In 2020–21, of the 12,300 newly allocated public housing households in greatest need (Figure ENTRIES.4; Table HOUSEHOLDS.16):

• 58% (7,100 households) were experiencing homelessness at the time of allocation; rising by 7 percentage points compared to 2019–20
• 33% (4,100 households) were at risk of homelessness, of those households:
  • 1 in 5 (20% or 2,500) reported the main reason for their greatest need was because their life or safety was at risk in their accommodation.
  • Around 1 in 10 (9% or 1,100 households) reported a health condition aggravated by housing as their main reason for greatest need.

Figure ENTRIES.4: Newly allocated households in greatest need by main reason for greatest need and social housing program, 2011–12 to 2020–21

Data on the main reason a household was in greatest need for community housing were not complete due to data quality issues. Based on the available data, in 2020–21, of the newly allocated greatest need households in community housing where the main reason was known, more households were at risk of homelessness (51%) than experiencing homelessness (48%) (Figure ENTRIES.4; Table HOUSEHOLDS.16).

New allocations for special needs households

A household may have more than one special needs reason. In 2020–21, there were 9,500 newly allocated public housing households with special needs, representing 62% of all newly allocated households. Of these (Table HOUSEHOLDS.18):

• over half (57%, or 5,400 households) had at least one member with disability
• 2 in 5 (43%, or 4,000 households) had at least one Indigenous member

• 1 in 5 (18%, or 1,700 households) had a main tenant aged under 25
• 7% (or 600 households) had a main tenant aged 75 or over.

In 2020–21, of the almost 400 newly allocated SOMIH households with special needs:

• 3 in 5 (58%, or 230 households) had a main tenant aged 50 and over
• 1 in 4 (24%, or 90 households) had a main tenant aged under 25 years
• 1 in 3 (32%, or 130 households) contained at least one member with disability.

Greatest and special needs households

Greatest and special needs categories are not mutually exclusive, as one or more household members may be eligible within each priority group and/or between priority groups. Households with members in both greatest and special needs groups may be some of the most vulnerable households and may require high levels of care and support.

In 2020–21, of the newly allocated households in public housing (Figure HOUSEHOLDS.4; Table HOUSEHOLDS.17):

• over 1 in 2 were both greatest need and special needs households (53%, or 8,000 households)
• 1 in 5 were greatest need only (no special needs) (22% or 3,300 households)
• 860 (6%) were neither greatest need nor special needs households.

In 2020–21, of the newly allocated households in SOMIH:

• around 1 in 7 (15%, or 145 households) were both greatest need and special needs households
• 1 in 7 (15% or 150 households) were greatest need only (no special needs)
• almost 1 in 12 (8% or 80 households) were neither greatest need nor special needs
• Note that greatest need information was unavailable for Tasmania and the Northern Territory.

Time waited for social housing allocation

The time waited by applicants is influenced by dwelling availability (including the size of dwelling needed) and priority group status (greatest need or special needs) (Powell et al. 2019). Since households with priority group status (such as people experiencing homelessness or a disability) are placed ahead of households without priority group status, the number of households with priority group status may influence the amount of timed waited for social housing allocation. Additionally, the time waited for social housing programs can vary both between and within jurisdictions, as the time waited for social housing in high demand city areas are often far greater than other areas (NSW Government 2018; Powell et al. 2019).

The formula for the amount of time waited for allocated housing varies depending on household priority status. For households in greatest need, the time waited is calculated from the date applicants were determined to be of greatest need (priority group status) and the amount of time that passed before they were allocated housing. In other words, time waited is the amount of time between the greatest need determination and housing allocation.

For households not in greatest need, however, the time waited is calculated from the housing application date to housing allocation – this includes special needs households. Hence, the time waited is measured here as the amount of time between the housing application and housing allocation.

Data on time waited for housing allocation were unavailable for both community housing and Indigenous community housing.

In 2020–21 (Table HOUSEHOLDS.21)

• Of all newly allocated public housing households:
  • Over half (53%) of households were allocated housing within 1 year; 37% waited 1 to 5 years and 10% waited 5 years or more for housing allocation.
  • Over 2 in 5 couples with dependent children (42%) were allocated housing in less than 6 months, compared with a third of group and mixed composition households (32%).
• Of all newly allocated SOMIH households:
  • Almost two thirds (60%) of households were allocated housing in less than 1 year; 31% waited 1 to 5 years and 9% waited 5 or more years for housing allocation.
  • almost half of single adult households (49%) were allocated housing in less than 6 months, compared with a third of sole parents with dependent children (36%).

Greatest need and time waited for housing allocation

Greatest need status prioritises housing allocation to households with a relatively higher need for housing than other households. It is afforded to households that satisfy the eligibility criteria set by the housing provider’s policies and procedures and varies by jurisdiction (Flannagan et al. 2019). Greatest need status is generally conferred to households with experiences of homelessness and/or risks to life and safety. For greatest need households, time waited is the amount of time between the greatest need determination and housing allocation. For more detailed information, see the Priority groups section.

In 2020–21, among newly allocated households (Figure ENTRIES.2, Table HOUSEHOLDS.19):

• For public housing, greatest need households were more likely to be allocated housing within a year.
  • 3 in 4 greatest need households (76%, or 9,300 households) received public housing within one year, compared to 2 in 5 households without greatest need status (41% or 1,200).
  • The proportion of newly allocated greatest need households receiving public housing (44%) who waited less than 3 months for housing allocation was more than double the proportion of households without greatest need status (19%).

• Households without greatest need status were more likely to spend 2 years or more on the waiting list before receiving a public housing allocation (41% or 1,200), compared to of households with greatest need status (10% or 1200).

For SOMIH, newly allocated households with greatest need status were generally allocated housing faster than households without. In 2020–21 (Figure ENTRIES.5; Table HOUSEHOLDS.19):

• Around 3 in 4 (or 77%) of newly allocated SOMIH households in greatest need waited less than 1 year
• Around 23% of newly allocated SOMIH households in greatest need waited more than 1 year.
• 55% of newly allocated SOMIH households without greatest need status waited less than 1 year.

Figure ENTRIES.5: Time waited by newly allocated households by greatest need status and public housing and SOMIH, 2020–21

Special needs and time waited

Households seeking assistance from social housing providers often have members with special needs. Some households may have multiple special needs. The definition of special needs is different for different social housing programs. For more detailed information, see Priority groups section.

In 2020–21, the time special needs households waited for an allocation of public housing varied, with around (Table HOUSEHOLDS.20):

• 2,200 (24%) households waited for less than 3 months
• 2,600 (28%) households waited between 3 months and less than 1 year
• 3,600 (38%) households waited between 1 year to less than 5 years, and
• 1,000 (or 10%) households waited for more than 5 years.

Number of bedrooms and time waited

The time waited for social housing allocation varied depending upon the number of bedrooms required by a household and by program. For public housing allocations in 2020–21, the proportion of newly allocated households decreased with increasing bedroom numbers (around 40% for 1 bedroom, 30% for 2 bedrooms, 25% for 3 bedrooms and 4% for 4 or more bedrooms). Despite this, the amount of time waited was similar regardless of the number of bedrooms (Table HOUSEHOLDS.22).

In contrast to public housing, a greater proportion of SOMIH households received housing with 3 bedrooms (21%) or 4 or more bedrooms (57%) in 2020–21 (Table HOUSEHOLDS.22). This difference in housing allocation partly reflects the different housing needs of SOMIH households and differences in the housing stock (Memmott et al. 2012).

Households exiting social housing

Social housing 'Exits' refers to households that have exited a specific housing program during the reference year. Households that relocate within the same housing program are not considered ‘exits’, but instead, ‘transfers’. 

Households may exit social housing for a variety of reasons. Some households exit because of changes to their housing or neighbourhood needs, such as those related to location, size, or neighbourhood safety (Johnson et al. 2019). Whereas others exit social housing for financial or forced reasons, including employment opportunities, entry into home ownership, eviction, or ineligibility due to an increase in income (Baker et al. 2020, 2021). In this way, reasons influencing households exits from social housing can be both positive and negative (Wiesel et al. 2014). While exiting households most commonly enter the private rental market, some also enter home ownership or other tenure types, such as employer provided housing (Baker et al. 2020; Bentley et al. 2018), however, this information is not captured in the datasets informing this report.

In 2020–21, exits from public housing and SOMIH decreased compared to previous years, with around 16,400 public housing households and 900 SOMIH households having exited. Across the states and territories, New South Wales (5,224 entries and 5218 exits), Queensland (3,614 entries and 3,236 exits) and the Northern Territory (331 entries and 292 exits) had more new allocations to public housing than exits from public housing (Tables HOUSEHOLDS.10 and 25).

In 2020–21, fewer households exited SOMIH (900) than the previous three years (ranging from 1,000 to 1,300 between 2017–18 and 2019–20). The number of households exiting SOMIH in 2020–21 was similar to the number of newly allocated households (1,000) (Table HOUSEHOLDS.23).

Households transferring dwellings

Transfers occur when occupants move to a vacant dwelling in the same social housing program. Transfers may be initiated by either the tenant (including a mutual swapping of properties between eligible tenants) or housing provider in response to a change in circumstance or housing need. This may include household composition changes (such as overcrowding or underutilisation), a medical condition or because of stock renewal and re-development. Transfer eligibility and implementation varies by jurisdiction.

During 2020–21, 3% of public housing households and 2% of SOMIH households transferred—or were relocated—to a different dwelling within the same housing program (Table HOUSEHOLDS.25).

In 2020–21, the proportion of household transfers were similar across the states and territories (2–4%). New South Wales (2,200 households), Victoria (1,800 households) and Queensland (1,300 households) had the highest number of transfers, and the Northern Territory had the highest proportion of transfers (4.2% or 210 households) (Figure TRANSFERS AND EXITS.1; Table HOUSEHOLDS.25).

Figure TRANSFERS AND EXITS.1: Households by transfer and exit status, public housing and SOMIH, by states and territories, 2011–12 to 2020–21