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| The housing system in Australia is changing. For many years, high rates of home ownership underpinned by high employment levels and an adequate income support system ensured that most Australians were well housed. However, many low-income earners are now facing housing crisis. |
| On present trends, the number of households experiencing housing stress in metropolitan Australia will double in 15 years and reach nearly one million within 20 years. Incomes at the bottom end of the scale have not kept pace with increases in middle and high income levels, i.e. there is a widening gap between the rich and the poor, and effective shortages of low cost rental housing are even more intense in regional Australia. Housing affordability problems may be climbing the income ladder to affect the "working poor" and even middle-income households. |
| National Shelter puts forward several fundamental principles for a national housing policy that would ensure: |
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The right housing is available at the right cost in the right place at the right time. |
| These principles are:- |
| Housing is affordable. People should not be left in poverty after they have met their housing costs. |
| Housing is adequate. Everybody is entitled to housing that meets basic standards of decency and their own basic needs. |
| Housing is secure. People should not live under threat of loss of home and shelter. It is from a secure base that people are enabled to form constructive relationships, grow families and seek employment and community engagement. |
| Housing is accessible. People should be informed about available housing options and access to these should be free from discrimination. |
| Housing is in the right place. It should be located close to services and support networks, to job opportunities and to social and leisure activities. Housing should encourage inclusion of people in community life. |
| Housing meets people's life-cycle needs. People have different housing needs at different stages of their lives, and housing should be available to match these changing needs. |
| From The Way Forward, National Shelter |
