UNSW research on 'youth housing penalty' launched
Last Tuesday, we launched exciting new research from the University of New South Wales City Futures Research Centre. The research investigates the financial barriers currently preventing children and young people from accessing community housing.
You can read about it in the Guardian here and at this NewsReel article here. Thanks to Rosy for your media advocacy.
The research considers how these barriers can be reformed to create better outcomes, forming a critical piece of the policy puzzle to unlocking housing for young people in Australia.
It provides three practical policy options for the Federal Government to remove this youth housing penalty from Australia's housing system. These include:
Provide increases or supplements to equalise young tenants’ rents with older cohorts.
Allow community housing organisations to receive the maximum level of Commonwealth Rent Assistance.
Consider tenant income in funding assessments to make youth-focused housing projects viable.
You can read the report here. Please get in touch if you want to advocate for this issue in the new year.
Two young advocates, Imogen and Atlas, spoke powerfully about what it will take to fix Australia's housing system. Other speakers included Kate Colvin from Homelessness Australia, Wendy Hayhurst from the Community Industry Association, Paul Wright from Mission Australia and Shorna Moore from Melbourne City Mission also spoke about youth homelessness in Australia and the opportunities we have to fix housing for young people.
Other research discussed at the event included:
The Unfair Divide (Mission Australia)
Victorian Youth Homelessness Snapshot (Melbourne City Mission)
We are deeply grateful to Parliamentary Friends of Housing for hosting the event, particularly to Josh Burns MP, Senator David Pocock, and Angie Bell MP for their support.
