Publications

Older woman’s home owning status in Australia has been inextricably linked to partnering with a male because historically, single women were denied home loans. A critical life event such as illness, unemployment or loss of partner can have enduring consequences for housing security. Women on average are paid 17 per cent less than men throughout their life course and have half the superannuation and savings on retirement, with 55 per cent of women 60 years and older having no superannuation at all. Casualisation, interrupted workforce participation and unpaid domestic and caring labour mean that women have less diverse assets and greater financial risk in later years.4 Family violence is the leading cause of homelessness
in women of all ages. Associated financial abuse has multiple impacts including damaged credit ratings and loss of the family home. Older women also have greater barriers to sustaining employment due to age and sex discrimination, and greater pressure to financially support adult children.

Read the article by Frances Every and Leonie Bessant

This report compares tenants rights and legislative and policy frameworks for public housing and community housing, with a focus on how these are experienced by older tenants. By foregrounding the perspectives of older tenants, this report hopes to provide insight into the personal impact of the systems that shape tenant’s housing experiences. This report also includes the experiences of housing support workers, to provide additional insight into the processes by which tenants access public and community housing.

Read the report here

This booklet compiles stories from older people experiencing homelessness and housing stress from around Australia, who form the the National Alliance of Seniors for Housing, advocating for safe and affordable housing for older people.

Read 'Seniors for Housing'

This report presents the findings of a study of the housing experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex (LGBTI) older people in Victoria, undertaken by Housing for the Aged Action Group.

It aims to begin to bridge the critical gap in research by identifying the current housing circumstances and concerns of LGBTI older Victorians. We hope that the findings can be used to better inform research, policy and best practice and improve sector and policy responses surrounding older LGBTI people and Housing in order to reduce the number of LGBTI older people at risk of or experiencing homelessness.

Read the Policy Snapshot

Read the Final Report

This spring we farewell our old chairperson, welcome new staff, and keep you up to date with all of HAAGs projects and services.

Read the Newsletter here

26.5% of the people who access our Home at Last Service to avoid becoming homeless, do so because their housing is inappropriate inadequate. Universal design means that older people can age in place, regardless of where they live. The ageing in place concept encourages older people to stay in their own homes, in order to promote health, well-being and independence.

Our submission calls on the Australian Building Codes Board to implement minimum standards for building design so older people can age-in-place.

Read the submission here

Fiona York provided evidence outlining the need for affordable housing for older people in Victoria.

Read the Transcript here

LGBTI communities are at a higher risk of becoming homeless compared to the wider community. This risk is further compounded for older LGBTI people who are faced with additional challenges related to ageing and lifelong experiences of stigma and discrimination. The lack of services and programs available to these older people has contributed to a growing trend of older LGBTI people retiring into homelessness.

This joint submission arises from the LGBTI Elders Housing Project, being led by HAAG in partnership with Switchboard Victoria, Val’s LGBTI Ageing and Aged Care, Transgender Victoria and Thorne Harbour Health.

Read the submission here

Homelessness is a rapidly growing problem in Victoria. Between the 2006 and 2016 Census the number of people experiencing homelessness in Victoria increased from a rate of 35.3 per 10,000 population to 41.9 per 10,000 population. A desperate shortage of affordable housing and skyrocketing rents are driving more and more people, from diverse backgrounds, out of their homes and into homelessness.

Belying the old stereotypes of homeless people being “rough sleepers: with complex needs, the fastest growing cohorts of people becoming homeless are women and older people. For many homeless means couch sur ng, living in severe overcrowding,
and temporarily in rooming houses and emergency accommodation.

This report examines the cohort of older people, over 55 years old, who are homeless, or at risk of becoming homeless. During the same period between 2006 and 2016, older persons homelessness grew by 58 per cent. Drawing on Census, as well as Specialist Homelessness Services data from across the state, this report examines the makeup of this growing and often hidden demographic of homeless people.

Read the full report