Abstract
Social housing, although it is a small part of Australia’s housing stock, has historically played a vital role in accommodating low-income families. This chapter, drawing on 45 in-depth interviews with older social housing tenants. It first briefly outlines the shifts in the policies of successive Australian federal governments towards social housing and the positive impact that the provision of affordable, secure and adequate housing often has on the capabilities and health of residents. The final section and bulk of the chapter, investigates the residualisation of social housing and its impact on residents.
Social housing is defined as rental housing that state governments or non-government organisations make available to low-income households. It is made up of public housing and community housing. The former is owned and managed by state governments and the latter by non-profit organisations. Rents are set at 25 per cent of household income. In June 2014, there were 393,844 households in social housing; 317,000 were in public housing, 9800 were in state-managed and state-owned Indigenous housing and 67,000 were in community housing (AIHW, 2015).
Older is defined as people on the age pension, 65 and older.
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In March 2014, the New South Wales state government announced that all 293 public housing properties in the Millers Point area are to be sold and the 579 public housing tenants moved. The main legitimation was that the money raised will be used to build more social housing. Millers Point is in walking distance of the Sydney Opera House and has become one of Sydney’s most expensive residential areas. In May 2017, only 24 tenants remained. Almost all are elderly and have lived in Millers Point for all or most of their lives.
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Morris, A. (2018). The Residualisation of Social Housing in Australia and Its Impacts on Older Tenants. In: Ní Shé, É., Burton, L., Danaher, P. (eds) Social Capital and Enterprise in the Modern State. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68115-3_3
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