Housing assistance, social inclusion and people with disabilities

Final report

• Andrew Beer
• Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI)

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30 November 2011The project involved 98 face-to-face interviews with persons with a disability in NSW, SA and Vic; focus groups with service providers; and interviews with social housing providers.

The research found that housing assistance has a very substantial impact on the social inclusion of persons with a disability in Australia. Housing assistance:

• Provides stability in the lives of persons living with a disability who would otherwise be vulnerable to a range of negative circumstances and who may otherwise have no sense of control over their lives.
• Improves resilience and independence by helping people with a disability deal with crises in their lives in relation to health, family relationships, monetary concerns etc.
• Reduces exposure to very high housing costs and the risk of eviction–thereby reducing vulnerability to homelessness.
• Improves employability in paid employment which has social inclusion benefits both for the individual and broader society.
• Provides opportunities for being heard so that people with disabilities find a voice within their community, which in turn enables engagement with wider social institutions.

Governments can improve social inclusion for persons with a disability by:

• Providing more social housing and targeting it to this vulnerable group.
• Avoiding concentrating persons with a disability in particular neighbourhoods.
• Ensuring housing is appropriate to the needs of the person with a disability and their household through modifications and providing on-going maintenance.
• Providing accommodation in places with good access to public transport in order to facilitate access to both services and employment.
• Facilitating training and community development through housing assistance programs.
• Providing private rental support programs such as that offered by Karingal in Geelong.

More Information

Positioning Paper: No. 131: Housing assistance, social inclusion and people with disabilities
485 KB PDF Document  

Final Report: No. 178: Housing assistance, social inclusion and people living with a disability