With 405,000 women aged 45 and over at risk of homelessness in Australia, older women are speaking up, sharing their stories, and demanding political action.
Australia’s housing system is failing people experiencing disadvantage, particularly older people who are falling through the cracks. The existing policy frameworks are inadequately equipped to support people at risk of homelessness and there is a clear need for national leadership through a National Housing Strategy to develop and deliver sustainable solutions that are properly resourced.
In October 2020 we received an My Aged Care (MAC) referral from Brimbank Council Regional Assessment Service (RAS) for Sue, a 72 year-old woman living in private rental in the western suburbs of Melbourne.
Our first edition for 2022 is packed with updates from our services, stories from members and clients, along with messages to political candidates ahead of the federal election.
Shane and Fiona talk to Emma Bacon, Executive Director of Sweltering Cities about their recent survey into housing and heat, and how older Public Housing tenants in highrises in Melbourne are coping (or not coping) with heat waves. Find out more at swelteringcities.org
HAAG and Older Womens Network NSW's input into the Draft National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children 2022-2032. We provide recommendations to adress domestic violence, elder abuse and homelessness amongst older women. This submission is endorsed by Domestic Violence NSW (DVNSW).
With a decline in home ownership at retirement age, unprecedented increases in housing prices and a reduction in social and affordable housing stock in Australia, older people are experiencing significant housing challenges and are at increased risk of homelessness. Older women are the fastest growing cohort of people experiencing homelessness in Australia.
This document outlines the urgent policy reforms that are required by the Federal Government.
Following on from the success of the At Risk forum in 2021 which mobilised hundreds of older people across the country to take action and demand change from their federal politicians, Housing for the Aged Action Group and the National Alliance of Seniors for Housing are taking the next steps to bring the campaigns demands to the federal election. We can’t afford another three years of inaction while older people are the fastest growing group experiencing homelessness in this country.
LGBTI housing - National Housing Conference
9 Mar 2022
We hear from the LGBTI housing panel at the National Housing Conference, held in Melbourne 3-5 March 2022, including Andrew Rogers.
HAAG supports an explicit objective in the regulatory system to protect and safeguard the interests of current, prospective and future tenants. We note that there is tension between the practical application of putting “tenants in the centre” in the broader context of a housing policy direction focussed on transfer of stock and redevelopment of public housing. While this independent review of social housing regulation is occurring, Homes Victoria is simultaneously relocating existing public housing tenants from their homes under the public housing renewal program. Those tenants are not “at the centre” of this decision, and the practical aim of applying this approach is questionable in a context where tenants feel powerless in the face of the decisions made by government to move them out of their communities and into an uncertain future.
"There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort."