Housing policies for older Australians: looking back, looking forward
Andrew Jones and Cheryl Tilse
School of Social Work and Applied Human Sciences, University of Queensland
Contact Email:   a.jonessocial.uq.edu.au

The ageing of the Australian population emerged as a political issue during the past quarter century and is now firmly established on the policy agenda. However, the housing of older Australians has received less attention than many other policy areas. National policies for housing for older people were first developed in the 1950s, but there is still no comprehensive national policy approach. This paper, based on AHURI-funded research at the AHURI Queensland Research Centre, will ‘look back’ at the policy history of this issue, propose reasons for its sporadic and partial policy treatment, and identify consequences of past and current approaches. It will ‘look forward’ by arguing the case for re-conceptualising this policy area and proposing new policy approaches. Specifically, the paper argues that public policy should be informed by greater understanding of the diverse housing needs and preferences of older people, and of changes in housing supply including emerging housing types targeting segments of the older persons’ housing market. Key issues include the integration of housing and aged care, the disadvantaged status of non-home owning older Australians, the vulnerability of marginally housed and homeless older people, and the key role of housing in underpinning retirement income and aged care policies.

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