This resource sheet on Indigenous housing describes the best approaches to the construction and maintenance of Indigenous housing stock. The basic assumption taken in this document is that, in a resource-constrained environment, it is very important to focus on ensuring that the investment in Indigenous housing generates an improvement in housing function for the residents.

It does not cover broader questions such as the total amount of housing required or the best housing management systems, although it touches on these issues.

The reason this issue is important is that many of the current approaches to construction and maintenance do not seem to be working. There is evidence of continuing problems with the standard of Indigenous housing. This is particularly disturbing because we know that there is a clear relationship between the quality of Indigenous housing and the health outcomes of the occupants. This resource sheet refers to construction and maintenance issues in all geographical areas, although the evidence highlights that some of the greatest challenges lie in remote areas.