A Federation of state COTAs has produced a report called State of the (Older) Nation Report. COTA, with Newgate Research, conducted a nationally-representative online survey lasting 25 minutes on average, completed by 2,562 Australians aged 50 and over, with quotas set for state and territory, metropolitan and regional areas, gender and age. The report is a summary of the information gathered. There seems to be a significant poverty gap – with people renting and experiencing financial hardship doing poorly on a range of indicators. The whole report is available at the link below, but HAAG has created a summary of the responses for older renters.
Shane and Pam from HAAG talk to Pauline from Val's LGBTI Ageing and Aged Care about the specific housing needs of LGBTI older people, and what the state election results mean for older people's housing in Victoria.
While there has been research into the experience of people living in ILUs (HAAG, 2016), there is limited knowledge of the experience of people attempting to gain access to them. It may be inferred however that access is problematic; waitlists are generally years in length, there area large numbers of low-income pensioners in the private rental market, and there are low numbers of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) aged living in them (HAAG, 2016). Obtaining up to date and transparent information about ILUs and other retirement villages is also challenging.
This report looks at whether HAAG clients who are given information about ILUs actually obtain housing in ILUs, and explores some of the structural reasons behind this.
The purpose of this report is to ascertain whether or not the VHR is working as it intended in regards to the process of receiving community housing offers in the case of HAAG’s cohort of older people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. HAAG’s housing workers house approximately 7 people per month in social housing - an umbrella term to mean public housing which is owned by government, and community housing which is owned or managed by not for profit community housing providers. Our workers mainly utilise the VHR and use our contacts and networks within community housing providers to house our clients. In practice though, how many of our clients are being housed in community housing through each process? Has the VHR simplified it and made the process more transparent in relation to community housing providers and how they offer vacancies? This is something the introduction of the VHR aimed to address and this report will focus on.
This newsletter celebrates the tireless work of April Bragg. After 19 years of service, April is retiring, but not without leaving behind a legacy of dedication and passion for housing justice for Older Victorians.
Shane and Pam talk to outgoing HAAG manager April Bragg about decades of work and struggle for public housing. April talks about successful campaigns by public housing tenants of the 70s and 80s for security of tenure and against eviction. Great anecdotes about eviction resistance, direct action and the vital role of working class women in the struggles for housing justice.
"For many years older people at risk of homelessness in the rental market have been discriminated against and severely neglected by the aged care system. The main factor that has caused this problem is a policy framework and aged care service practices that are based on the broad assumption that older people own their own home and, as assets based financial contributors, are more valued than older renters."
"For many years older people at risk of homelessness in the rental market have been discriminated against and severely neglected by the aged care system. The main factor that has caused this problem is a policy framework and aged care service practices that are based on the broad assumption that older people own their own home and, as assets based financial contributors, are more valued than older renters."
"There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort."