Submission to Victorian Parliament Family & Community Development Committee Inquiry into the Adequacy and Future Directions of Public Housing in Victoria

The scarcity of affordable and appropriate housing is becoming a significant contributor to poverty, disadvantage and homelessness among older Australians. And the underlying causes of housing problems particular to older people are set to worsen – the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) has projected that the n umber of people aged 65 and over in low income rental households will increase by 115% from 195,000 in 2001 to 419,000 in 2026. Public and social housing face a number of challeng es from this increasing demand for housing by low income older people. Notwithstanding the Com monwealth investment in social housing and affordable housing schemes, and positive develo pments in public housing in Victoria, much of the public housing stock is now unsuitable for older people, is unavailable to them due to segmented and extensive waiting lists, and falls far below the anticipated need.