Swinburne University of Technology - Melbourne Australia

Housing shortage hits ageing Aussies

Story by Robin Taylor

Reports about the dire shortage of affordable rental accommodation in Australia's major cities appear regularly in the news. But the impact of this housing crisis on older Australians and providers of public housing is rarely highlighted.

The newly formed Housing Affordability for Seniors Alliance says more than 100,000 older Australians (those aged over 60) are in housing stress, twice the number affected in 2004. And with Australia's increasingly ageing population - the Australian Bureau of Statistics has projected that by 2051 a quarter of the population will be aged 65 and over, a jump from 13 per cent in 2004 - the situation is expected to worsen.

Alliance spokesman Greg Mundy says that without a concerted approach by government and industry the accommodation problem will escalate, due to factors including the increased number of older people, the number of people retiring without owning a home, the decline in availability of public housing for seniors, and residential aged care being directed toward higher-needs older people.

Accommodation strategies for seniors must be developed after consulting older people about their housing preferences, he says. "Older people have different housing requirements, often needing smaller housing with accessible designs, located close to services and support."

Inevitably, the issue will bring challenges for providers of public housing. A report on older people in public housing by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) Swinburne-Monash Research Centre reveals that demand for public housing from people aged over 65 is expected to increase by 50 per cent in the 10 years to 2016. Just to match current levels of demand, public housing will need to provide an additional 4391 dwellings nationally for older people each year to 2016.

Increased rents in the private rental sector and the anticipated demise of one significant social housing option for older people - independent living units managed by aged-care organisations - will compound these challenges.

Sean McNelis, research fellow with Swinburne's Institute for Social Research and the report's principal author, says the report shows the lives of some older people - those previously living in private rental accommodation - are positively transformed through public housing, which is regarded by older people as an affordable housing option.

The authors interviewed 38 older public-housing tenants as part of the research on issues facing public-housing providers.

"Older people love their public housing and the feeling of community within their complex of units," Mr McNelis says. "They like that their public-housing complex only houses older people, its convenience to shops, amenities and transport, and that maintenance and modifications are done when needed."

But the report also warns that some public-housing stock, because of its location, poor condition, quality and small size, will soon become unacceptable to older people. Further, the demand for ground-floor and modified dwellings by older tenants wanting to age-in-place will increase.

Mr McNelis says mounting evidence from a series of AHURI reports on older people points to an urgent need for major new investment in social housing to meet the housing needs of older people with low incomes and few assets. "Older people are no longer restricted to aged-specific public housing. Rather, with their children leaving home, people are ageing-in-place in what were public-housing family homes."

The report reveals that the key concern of older people with regard to housing is their quality of life. They expect more of public housing than just a place to live.

"A key challenge for public-housing providers and for the Australian, state and territory governments is to expand the role for public housing from one that simply provides accommodation to a role in which housing for older people opens up opportunities for social networking and participation in a range of social, cultural and political activities," Mr McNelis says.

More information: www.ahuri.edu.au