The impact of Rent Assistance on housing affordability for low-income renters: Australia

Rent Assistance has failed to keep up with surging rental costs. Increases to Age and Disability Support Pension payments, since a one-off increase in 2009 of $32 per week, have helped reduce the numbers of these pensioners paying more than half of their income in rent. While many older people appeared to be faring better than their younger peers, 14,705 age pensioners are experiencing severe housing stress and paying more than half of their incomes in rent.