ASPC 2005: Paper Abstracts

SPRC-National Social Policy Conference 2001

Indigenous access to mainstream public and community housing options
Paul Flatau, Natalie McGrath, Lesley Cooper, Donna Edwards, Carol Lacroix, Marc Adam, Dora Marinova, Andrew Beer, Amanda Hart, Mary Morris, Cathrine Traee and Selina Tually
Murdoch University
Contact Email: p.flataumurdoch.edu.au

In May 2001, Federal, State and Territory Housing Ministers approved the text of a landmark document Building a Better Future: Indigenous Housing to 2010, which affirmed a commitment to improving housing outcomes for Indigenous people. An important component of the BBF strategy is to improve Indigenous access to mainstream public and community housing (strategy 1.4). The need to improve access to mainstream public and community housing options lies in the serious overrepresentation of Indigenous people in conditions of homelessness and other forms of marginal housing, in housing affordability and tenancy access and sustainability problems among low-income Indigenous tenants in the private rental market and in a much higher incidence of overcrowded and sub-standard accommodation in the Indigenous population than the non-Indigenous population.

In this paper we examine the level of representation of Indigenous people in mainstream public and community housing programs and the growth in the stock of Indigenous households in mainstream social housing options in recent times; provide an assessment of the impediments Indigenous people may face in accessing mainstream public and community housing assistance programs and, if so, what is the nature and extent of these impediments; assess Federal, State and Territory housing programs designed to facilitate access to mainstream public and community housing assistance programs; and present evidence on the sustainability of mainstream public and community housing tenancies among Indigenous people. A broad range of research methods are used including an assessment of administrative and other data sources, consultations with public housing authorities and community housing peak bodies, a quantitative housing well-being survey and intensive case study examinations.

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