2023 Worsening Rental Crisis in Australia Inquiry

This submission is made in response to the Senate Standing Committees on Community Affairs Inquiry into the Worsening Rental Crisis in Australia.

Summary of recommendations:

1. Ensure that the national housing strategy is gender responsive and includes ambitious goals to reduce homelessness and increase affordable housing stock.
2. Ensure adequate funding to specialist homelessness service and services working with people seeking asylum, refugees, migrants and LGBTIQ+ persons to increase their capacity to provide housing assistance.
3. Ensure adequate investment in social and public housing that is culturally safe and accessible by building design standards and removes visa eligibility as a requirement for access.
4. Ensure adequate funding to services working with people seeking asylum, refugees and LGBTIQ+ persons to increase their capacity and engage in ongoing training and professional development on this issue.
5. Work with the real estate industry to increase the data security of rental application systems and reduce barriers for forcibly displaced people to apply for rentals (including continuous employment, rental history, ID documents etc.).
6. Increase the rates of rental assistance and social security payments.