Submissions

HAAG’s Pre-Budget Submission provides proposals to address the impacts of the housing crisis on older Victorians. We call on the Victorian government to: respond to the specific housing needs older people by increasing investment in the Home at Last service so it can provide support across the state; fund housing options for older renters who aren’t eligible for social housing; and fund a service to assist older women to access a broader range of housing options including co-operative housing.

We also call for increasing public and community housing to 10% of all housing stock by 2040, investment in revitalising the Independent Living Units (ILU) Sector, and legislating a definition of ‘affordable housing’.

Read our pre-budget submission

The Aged Care Bill aims to legislate a number of changes proposed by the Aged Care Taskforce including Support at Home. Fundamental to receiving support at home is the expectation that older people have a stable home. HAAG makes a number of recommendations to ensure older people in private rental, marginal housing and other precarious housing settings have equitable access to support at home similar to homeowners.

Read our submission

We are particularly concerned by the suggestion that no person under 65 should be eligible for aged care services in any circumstance. If implemented, this would exclude prematurely aged homeless people, or those at risk of homelessness, from accessing specialist aged care services like residential care and Support at Home.


Our clients often age prematurely as a result of cumulative and persistent disadvantage and have one or more age-related conditions. While these people are not aged 65+, they require access to aged care services earlier than the rest of the population. Many of our clients are not eligible for the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

 

HAAG makes a number of recommendations to ensure the 'Plan for Victoria' addresses the future needs of older people to have access to safe, secure and affordable housing.

Read our submission

HAAG recommends that the Federal Government identify financial products and banking options to prevent older people in the lowest income households falling out of homeownership due to mortgage stress, as well as funding the construction of public and community housing for older people who are not likely to find market based housing

Read our submission

HAAG welcomes the opportunity to provide input into National Housing and Homelessness Plan Bill 2024. We appreciate Senator David Pocock, Kylea Tink MP and other members for their efforts bring this Bill forward and echo the support from the community sector organisations. Among other things, the submission below outlines the housing and homelessness related challenges of older people and the need to specifically recognise their needs.

Read the submission here

East Gippsland Social and Affordable housing submission 

HAAG’s recent research has found that over the last ten years, the housing circumstances for older Queenslanders is getting worse. Read our policy recommendations and download our guide to meeting with your candidates and MP's

Public housing is an appropriate housing option for older people, as rents are capped at 25% of income, and it provides security of tenure. In September 2023, the Victorian Government announced plans to “retire and redevelop” the public housing towers over the coming decades.

Currently, the private rental sector does not provide security of tenure, affordability or accessibility for older low-income households. For renting in retirement to be as secure as home ownership, it requires proper regulation and legislative reform to enable older people to age in place, in the communities that they are familiar with and close to their social networks.

Read our submission here

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