In 2021-22, across Australia over 174,600 households had applied to live in social housing, but only 29,100 households—usually those with complex or acute needs—were offered a home. This research investigates how policymakers and housing providers can use other forms of housing assistance to support people who are otherwise eligible for social housing.

This project report examines whether current social housing allocation and matching policies and practices meet the needs of applicants or tenants and maximise social housing sector performance and efficiency outcomes. It looks at how to optimise housing stock allocations based on individual needs, and neighbourhood and community needs.

This paper uses data collected from qualitative in-depth interviews with social housing providers and tenants in four Australian states, to highlight their experiences about the extent and ways in which an ethic of care is involved in life in social housing.

This research analyses how evaluation of public housing renewal is informing policy development and delivery to maximise financial returns and socio-economic outcomes, and seeks to understand how key public policies, such as mixed-tenure development, can enable both social and economic returns.

This report delivers a comprehensive account of the diverse housing circumstances of Australians at mid-life (35–54); elicits their housing aspirations and trade-offs; examines housing challenges and enablers; and ‘market tests’ future housing possibilities, including among vulnerable populations, to inform optimal policy development.