Australia should build social housing in high amenity suburbs, a new report has found.

Published by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI), the report has identified priority locations where social housing could be delivered so that tenants are able to access healthcare, education, public transport and employment.

According to the report, the nation’s current social housing stock is unevenly distributed.

All up, social housing currently makes up less than five percent of overall housing stock in more than 70 percent of high amenity suburbs.

In contrast, many suburbs with poor access to transport, shops and employment had much higher rates of social housing.

For example, high amenity suburbs such as Sydney – Haymarket (NSW), Melbourne CBD (VIC) and Brisbane City (QLD) each had only 0.3% social housing.

By contrast, social housing rates of 30 percent, 28 percent and 23 percent were found in Bridgwater in Tasmania, Ashcroft-Busby-Miller in New South Wales and Wacol in Queensland.

Dr Stephen Glackin, a senior research fellow in urban planning and urban geography at the Centre for Urban Transitions at Swinburne University, expressed concern at the latest findings.

Glackin said that the importance of delivering social housing in well-located areas should not be underestimated.

“For social housing tenants, many of whom may not have a car, easy access to services can be very important,” Glackin said.

“This is particularly true for those with complex needs who may require access to medical and other support services.”

More investment in social housing stock

The latest report comes as governments around Australia are ramping up social housing investment.

Under the Housing Australia Future Fund, the Commonwealth Government aims to deliver 20,000 social homes and 10,000 affordable homes over the five years from 1 July 2024.

Meanwhile, various states are conducting their own social housing construction and redevelopment projects.

This follows a lull in social housing commencements that in turn followed a boom that occurred over the five decades following World War II.

As of 2023/24, Australia had 446,000 social housing dwellings. This consisted of 362,000 that were constructed before 1996 and 84,000 which were built after that time.

At this level, social housing represents only four percent of Australia’s housing stock.

Sell low density homes to build medium density housing

The research suggests that governments boost the level of social housing provision across high amenity locations to at least five percent of housing stock within that suburb.

This could be done by selling existing low-density homes in well-located areas to private buyers and using the funds raised to construct new medium-density housing in the same areas.

Such a strategy could increase the overall number of social homes in high amenity areas by 20 percent.

Glackin says that this strategy will deliver best possible outcomes.

“Selling off low-density social housing and building higher density housing in well located areas will be a good opportunity to increase supply in locations that help tenants most,” he said.

“It will also help make access to the services and amenities in our cities and urban areas more equitable for many more Australians.”

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