Australia

A community fix for the affordable housing crisis

Australia has a pressing need for more social and affordable housing. More than half of all low-income tenants in the private market spend at least 30% of their disposable income on rent (and often much more than that). The best way to reduce rental stress is to build up the community housing sector, even though it currently provides less than 1% of all Australian dwellings.
2018

Co-housing: could it take off?

Choice and control are the driving force behind a growing co-housing initiative for older Australians looking for alternatives to the traditional aged care and retirement living options.
2018

Vertical retirement villages are on the rise, and they’re high-tech too

For good quality of life as one ages, there must be optimal retirement options. The default is to stay in one’s current home for as long as possible, or downsize. Some will settle into the quiet life of a retirement village on the urban fringes.
2018

Tiny houses: Interest is growing but who wants them and why?

My research to date has found a marked increase in people who want their own tiny house, particularly among older women. Based on earlier research, I argued tiny houses could be part of a solution to the perennial and wicked problem of unaffordable housing, as well as improving urban density and the environmental sustainability of housing. Demographically, interest in tiny houses is biased towar
2017

No place like home: The impact of declining home ownership on retirement

Australia’s retirement income system has long implicitly taken it for granted that the vast majority of retired people will have very low housing costs – in turn reflecting a presumption that most of them will own their own homes, and will have fully paid down any mortgage debt taken on in order to finance the original acquisition of their homes; and that those who have been unable to become home-
2017

Ageing and Homelessness: Solutions for a growing problem

An ageing population and growing levels of housing stress will increase the number of people at risk of ageing in to homelessness. One in six people aged over 55 who received help from a homelessness service reported having financial difficulties. Appropriate housing that is truly affordable is a key part of the solution.
2017

Why older Australians don’t downsize and the limits to what the government can do about it

Encouraging senior Australians to downsize their homes is one of the more popular ideas to make housing more affordable. The trouble is, incentives for downsizing would hit the budget, but make little difference to housing affordability. This article looks at government incentives that could release housing stock without financially penalising older home owners.
2017

Cohousing for Seniors: Literature Review

This literature review discusses key demographic and social trends in ageing and seniors housing in Australia. It then considers the characteristics of cohousing, and how and why it might be a suitable alternative housing model for senior Australians.
2017

Retirement Villages Approaching Capacity - Where Will Our Seniors Live?

Occupancy of retirement villages in Australia is close to capacity, highlighting the forthcoming shortage of age appropriate housing for senior Australians in their local communities.
2017

90 Day Design Innovation in Social Housing Project – Case Study

Housing that supports health, wellbeing and independence for older people is an important aspect of developing South Australia’s capacity as an age friendly state. Between December 2016 and March 2017, Office for the Ageing (OFTA) undertook a 90 Day Design Innovation in Social Housing Project to discover how housing and precinct design can respond to the needs of older Housing SA tenants as they
2017
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