The newly released annual Demographia report on housing affordability has found – once again – that Australia has some of the least affordable housing markets in the world. Sydney was ranked as the second-least-affordable housing market behind Hong Kong. This news came just a day after incoming NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced that improving housing...

The main aim of housing and homelessness sector services is to ensure that all Australians have access to affordable, safe and sustainable housing — a vital determinant of wellbeing that is associated with better outcomes in health, education and employment, as well as economic and social participation.

Executive summary

Recent evidence suggests households exposed to unaffordable housing include children, young people and their families. We know remarkably little, however, about the magnitude of this problem, and are only beginning to understand some of the ways these trends affect the childhoods and teen years of Australia’s children, their likely impact on children’s futures.

Many households exposed to unaffordable housing include dependent children and young people (Rowley and Ong 2012; Stone et al 2013). We know remarkably little, however, about the magnitude of this problem, and are only beginning to understand some of the ways these trends affect the childhoods and teen years of Australia’s children, their likely impact...