Six months out from the state election and NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet adds a new dimension to the term 'city-centric'

 

The Daily Telegraph, 8 September 2022, p.5:

NSW will be a thriving economy of six cities with fast rail, ambitious affordable-housing targets, more apartments and townhouses, and more defence and space jobs under a bold new plan from Premier Dominic Perrottet.

The state government and the Greater Sydney Commission will today unveil a discussion paper on the six-city plan – which includes Lower Hunter and Greater Newcastle City, Central Coast City, Illawarra-Shoalhaven City, Western Parkland City with the new Western Sydney International Airport at its centre, as well as the Central River City and Eastern Harbour City.

Map of the one and only newly created 'region' NSW Premier & Liberal MP for Epping Dominic Perrottet and Minister for Cities & Liberal MP for Pittwater Rob Stokes apparently care about.....

Six Cities Discussion Paper Mapping

NSW Greater Cities Commission, The Six Cities Region: Delivering global competitiveness and local liveability, September 2022, excerpts from the Discussion Paper's 68 pages:

• We are actively and effectively managing climate vulnerability, proactive climate proofing, urban heat and planning, and designing our built environments to withstand flooding, bushfires and coastal erosion.

• As we grow, we must ensure our region strengthens its resilience in the face of the increasing climate-related risks and natural hazards of drought, bushfire, floods, extreme heat and overexposure to UV radiation that are already impacting our communities. This is embodied in the objectives and priority actions set out in the NSW Climate Change Adaptation Strategy.

• The 2019–2020 bushfires across eastern Australia caused loss of life, property, infrastructure and devastating impact on communities, vegetation, wildlife and ecosystems across our region. There were additional health and economic impacts from the thick smoke blanketing the region for months.

  In early 2020, major flooding impacted parts of Greater Sydney, the Central Coast City and the Illawarra-Shoalhaven City. Floods returned to parts of the region in late 2020, 2021 and 2022, causing more devastation, disruption and landslips.

  
  

One might be forgiven for thinking that the Perrottet Government has its sights squarely fixed on those zones where the bulk of the state population (therefore the bulk of registered voters) are to be found. That it is the issues, concerns and aspirations of voters living between the Illawarra-Shoalhaven and Newcastle-Upper Hunter which matter most when it comes to planning and implementing climate change mitigation, resilience measures and urban design & development. 

Seemingly wider regional New South Wales and its high climate risk communities will only get noticed between now and the March 2023 state election if the smaller number of regional voters outside of those "six cities" manage to transform themselves into very politically prickly problems for the government in Macquarie Street.

Quotes of the Week

 

“Lend Lease, Stocks and Holdings, Parkes Development and L.J. Hooker all bought land in the Gosford and Penrith areas soon after publication of the Outline Plan. (Sunday Australian 5 March 1972) The inability of local and state government services to keep pace with the rate of subdivision by these developers was contributing, according to the Sunday Australian (5 March 1972) to the escalating price of blocks. In 1970 the average price of vacant land in Sydney was $7,240 per acre, in 1971 $8,969, and by 1972 had risen to $11,802 an acre. (Financial Review 28 July 1972). The beneficiaries of rising land prices are clear enough. According to the present Federal Minister for Urban and Regional Development (Mr T. Uren, MHR) the poor in general and young couples in particular are the ones who suffer.”

[Leonie Sandercock, (1974) PROPERTY, POLITICS AND POWER : A HISTORY OF CITY PLANNING IN ADELAIDE, MELBOURNE AND SYDNEY SINCE 1900]

“To Juanita, there was an urgent need for answers to the problem of rehousing old and low-income people in their own neighbourhoods. This was already occurring in Darlinghurst and it was time it was also taken into account by planners in Kings Cross. Juanita’s reaction to Paul Strasser’s projected Parkes Developments’ proposal marked the beginning of the end of her ‘soft’ editorial policy. She was outraged when Parkes offered to buy her home for what was an extraordinary amount of money for a small terrace in 1973—$200 000. She refused, and she recounted later to the Sydney Morning Herald that she had come under ‘all sorts of unimaginable pressures’. ‘I began to realise that if I was getting into so much trouble—owning my own house and a newspaper—what hope would a pensioner have?’ But the experience was a catalyst for her to also embrace a more formal presence in the Victoria Street power plays. She formed the Victoria Street Ratepayers’ Association and became its secretary. Through this tactic she was able to stall Parkes’ twenty-eight-storey development, as well as gaining another lever against overdevelopment on the west side. With this delay, the Parkes’ plan would ultimately lapse.”

[Peter Rees, (2004) KILLING JUANITA, p.78]

“REASONS FOR DECISION

1 The appellant (“Hometown”) owns and operates a residential land lease community in Lennox Head, New South Wales (“Community”). The Community is governed by the Residential (Land Lease) Communities Act, 2013 (NSW) (“Act”).

2 On or about 4 November 2020, Hometown acquired the home located at site 4 of the Community from a former home owner for a purchase price of $207,500. It refurbished the home and marketed it for sale.

3 On 5 March 2021, Ms Bullivant entered into a sale agreement to purchase the home at site 4 from Hometown for a purchase price of $260,000.

4 On 6 March 2021, Ms Bullivant entered into a site agreement (within the meaning of the Act) with Hometown in respect of the home at site 4 in which she agreed to pay $192 per week.

5 By application filed 28 July 2021, Ms Bullivant sought orders from the Tribunal pursuant to section 157(1) of the Act asserting, in summary, that Hometown, as operator comply with its obligation to set fees for the site at fair market value and compensation for the difference between fair market value and the site fees charged by Hometown under the site agreement since its inception.

The Decision of the Tribunal

6 In its decision of 21 December 2021, the Tribunal found, in summary, that Part 10 of the Act and, in particular, s 109 applied to the sale of the home at site 4 to Ms Bullivant and that the site fees charged by Hometown exceeded fair market value. The Tribunal held that fair market value of site fees for site 4 was $164.40 and ordered a reduction of the site fees under the site agreement to that amount (subject to the term of the site agreement providing for a 4% annual increase in site fees). The primary member found that section 109(6) applied to the site agreement entered into between Hometown and Ms Bullivant and made orders for the reduction of Ms Bullivant’s site fees”

[Civil and Administrative Tribunal, New South Wales, Hometown Australia Lennox Pty Limited v Debra Bullivant [2022] NSWCATAP 161 (17 May 2022)]

A Glimpse at Official Highlights of the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census

 

The last national Census night was Tuesday,10 August 2021.

 This census counted 25,417,978 Australian residents who were in Australia on Census night (including people imputed for non-responding dwellings). The Post Enumeration Survey (PES) estimate for the same population was 25,608,022 persons.

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), National, state and territory population

• Australia’s population was 25,766,605 people at 31 December 2021.

• The quarterly growth was 63,400 people (0.2%).

• The annual growth was 128,000 people (0.5%).

• Annual natural increase was 138,500 and net overseas migration was -3,600.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, media releases, 28 June 2022, extracts on the broad subjects of:

POPULATION

https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/people-and-communities/snapshot-australia/2021#population

The 2021 Census counted nearly 25.5 million people (25,422,788) in Australia, excluding overseas visitors, on Census night. This is an increase of over two million people (2,020,896), or 8.6 per cent, since the 2016 Census.

Australia’s Census count has more than doubled in the last 50 years, with the 1971 Census counting over 12 million people (12,493,001).

The Census counted more than 800,000 (812,728) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people on Census night, 3.2 per cent of the total people counted. This is an increase of over 25 per cent (25.2 per cent) since 2016.

Australia continues to become more diverse, with over 1 million (1,020,007) residents arriving in Australia from 2017 to 2021. Over four out of every five (83.7 per cent) of these arrivals were in 2017 to 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

With these new arrivals, we have seen the proportion of Australian residents that are born overseas (first generation) or have a parent born overseas (second generation) move above 50 per cent (51.5 per cent).

Beyond these headline numbers the Census provides rich information about the nation, giving insight on cultural diversity, families and homes, to how we changed during the pandemic.

Dr David Gruen AO, Australian Statistician, said “Every stat tells a story and today we are sharing a glimpse into the stories of almost 25.5 million Australians. This accurate and valuable data reveals who we are as a nation and how we have changed.

Thank you to the millions of people across Australia who completed the 2021 Census. It was important that everyone participated to ensure that every community is represented in the Census data.

Census data is used to inform important decisions about transport, schools, health care, infrastructure and business at the community and national level. The high response rate means that Census data provides accurate insights to tell your community’s story.”

The 2021 Census achieved a response rate above the Australian Bureau of Statistics target obtaining data from 10 million (10,852,208) dwellings during the height of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The dwelling response rate was 96.1 per cent, up from 95.1 per cent in 2016.

The Statistical Independent Assurance Panel, established by the Australian Statistician to provide assurance of Census data quality, concluded that the 2021 Census data is fit-for-purpose, is of comparable quality to the 2011 and 2016 Censuses and can be used with confidence.

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https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/people-and-communities/snapshot-australia/2021

The 2021 Census of Population and Housing has delivered a snapshot of the different generations that make up Australia.

The latest data reveals that, within a very small margin, numbers of Millennials (25-39 years old) have caught up to Baby Boomers (55-74 years old) as the largest generational group in Australia. In the 1966 Census, nearly two in every five people (38.5 per cent) were Baby Boomers.

Baby Boomers and Millennials each have over 5.4 million people, with only 5,662 more Baby Boomers than Millennials counted on 10 August 2021. Over the last ten years, the Millennials have increased from 20.4 per cent of the population in 2011 to 21.5 per cent in 2021. In the same time, Baby Boomers have decreased from 25.4 per cent in 2011 to 21.5 per cent in 2021.

Dr David Gruen AO, Australian Statistician, said “The data collected by the Census assists governments and community organisations to understand the needs of each generation. We see that an increasing number of Baby Boomers are needing assistance with core activities – with 7.4 per cent reporting a need for assistance, compared to 2.8 per cent across the younger generations. This information will help frame policy that delivers positive outcomes for our communities.”

Census data shows the important role Baby Boomers are providing in caring for other peoples’ children, often their grandchildren. Around one in eight (12.8 per cent) Baby Boomers reported caring for other peoples’ children, and of these two thirds are female (67.5 per cent). They are also the generation most likely to volunteer and provide unpaid assistance to others.

Millennials are of working age and are upskilling, representing 40 per cent of people attending vocational education, including TAFE, and 48 per cent of people currently serving in the regular service of the Australian Defence Force.

Millennials and Baby Boomers report quite different religious affiliations, with nearly 60 per cent (56.8 per cent) of Baby Boomers reporting a Christian religious affiliation compared to 30 per cent of Millennials (30.6 per cent). More than 45 per cent (46.5 per cent) of Millennials reported that they had no religion compared to 30 per cent of Baby Boomers (30.7 per cent).

Generation Z (10-24 years old) represent 18 per cent of Australia and 30 per cent of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population.

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FIRST NATIONS PEOPLES

https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/people-and-communities/snapshot-australia/2021#aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-communities

The 2021 Census provides an updated snapshot of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said today.

The Census found that 812,728 people (3.2 per cent of the population) identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, an increase of over 25 per cent (25.2 per cent) since 2016.

Of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people counted, 91.4 per cent identified as Aboriginal, 4.2 per cent identified as Torres Strait Islander, and 4.4 per cent identified as both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.

The Census also revealed growing numbers of older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, with over 47,000 (47,677) aged 65 years and over in 2021, up from 31,000 in 2016 and 21,000 in 2011. The median age for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people increased slightly to 24 years in 2021, up from 23 years in 2016 and 21 years in 2011.

Traditional languages continue to be an important part of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander households, with 167 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages spoken at home in 2021 by over 78,000 (78,656) people.

The most widely reported language groups spoken were Arnhem Land and Daly River Region Languages, Torres Strait Island Languages, Western Desert Languages, Yolngu Matha and Arandic.

The 2021 Census introduced a new question on service with the Australian Defence Force (ADF). It found that over 3,000 (3,159 or 3.7 per cent) currently serving members and over 11,000 (11,610 or 2.3 per cent) former serving members identify as having Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin.

Dr David Gruen AO, Australian Statistician, said “The Census collects vitally important information for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities that will help governments and local organisations plan for health, education and community services into the future.

The ABS is undertaking further analysis of the insights that Census data provides for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We look forward to sharing these in our future releases.”

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INTERNATIONAL ANCESTRY and LANGUAGE

https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/people-and-communities/snapshot-australia/2021#culturally-and-linguistically-diverse-communities

The Census provides a snapshot of the cultures and languages that make up Australia by providing data on cultural diversity, country of birth, ancestry and languages used at home.

The 2021 Census found that almost half of Australians have a parent born overseas (48.2 per cent) and the population continues to be drawn from around the globe, with 27.6 per cent reporting a birthplace overseas.

The Census shows that Australia has welcomed more than one million people (1,020,007) into Australia since 2017. The largest increase in country of birth, outside Australia, was India with 220,000 (217,963) additional people counted. India has moved past China and New Zealand to become the third largest country of birth behind Australia and England.

The second largest increase in country of birth was Nepal, with an additional 70,000 (67,752) people, meaning the population of Nepali born has more than doubled since 2016 (an increase of 123.7 per cent).

The top five reported ancestries in the 2021 Census followed previous trends and were English at 33.0 per cent, Australian at 29.9 per cent, Irish at 9.5 per cent, Scottish at 8.6 per cent and Chinese at 5.5 per cent.

The number of people who used a language other than English at home has increased by nearly 800,000 (792,062) from 2016 to over 5.5 million people (5,663,709). 850,000 (852,706) of this group reported that they do not speak English well or at all.

Mandarin continues to be the most common language other than English used at home, with nearly 700,000 (685,274) people using Mandarin at home. This is followed by Arabic with just over 367,000 (367,159) people. Punjabi had the largest increase, with the 2021 Census showing over 239,000 (239,033) people using Punjabi at home, an increase of over 80 per cent (80.4 per cent) from 2016.

Dr David Gruen AO, Australian Statistician, said “The Census captures the extent of the linguistic diversity across Australia. 2021 Census data collected information on over 250 ancestries and 350 languages.

The information collected in the Census provides important data to help plan services and support for culturally and linguistically diverse communities at the local level. For example, by understanding the growing population groups in their area, community groups can provide in-language services at the local level”.

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HOUSING and HOUSEHOLDS

https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/people-and-communities/snapshot-australia/2021#our-families-and-households

There were nearly 11 million (10,852,208) private dwellings counted in the 2021 Census, an increase of nearly one million (950,712) since 2016. These dwellings were comprised of separate houses (70 per cent), apartments (16 per cent) and town houses (13 per cent). The proportion of apartments continues to increase, with apartments accounting for nearly one third (30.9 per cent) of the increase in private dwellings since 2016.

The 2021 Census separately identified high rises (nine or more storeys) for the first time and found that over half a million people (550,592) live in Australia’s 370,000 (368,943) high rise apartments. Over 2.5 million people (2,620,903) or 10.3 per cent of us now live in apartments.

Not all dwellings were occupied on Census night (such as vacant holiday homes or vacant investment properties), with the 2021 Census finding more than one million (1,043,776) unoccupied dwellings.

Many alternative dwellings were also counted on Census night, including caravans (58,155), cabins and houseboats (29,369).

Two thirds of households (66.0 per cent) own their home outright or with a mortgage, very similar to Censuses back to 1996 (67.8 per cent). However, the proportion of households that own outright has dropped from 40 per cent in 1996 (41.6 per cent) to 30 per cent in 2021 (31.0 per cent).

Households that own with a mortgage have increased from about a quarter of all households (26.2 per cent) in 1996 to 35 per cent (35.0 per cent). Over the last 25 years, the number of homes owned outright has increased by 10 per cent, while the number owned with a mortgage has doubled (increased by 96.8 per cent).

When travelling to and from our homes, we are a nation of drivers. 91 per cent of households (91.3 per cent) reported having at least one vehicle and more than half (55.1 per cent) reported having two or more vehicles.

Dr David Gruen AO, Australian Statistician, said “The Census provides a unique snapshot of where people slept on Census night. During the Census, we reached people staying in hotels, those travelling on Census night, and even Australians working offshore.

The information collected about how people live and what type of home they live in will help inform community planning for new housing and support existing living arrangements within the community”.

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HEALTH

2021 is the first time Census has collected information on diagnosed long-term health conditions. Over two million people reported having at least one of the following conditions - mental health (2,231,543), arthritis (2,150,396) or asthma (2,068,020), with these being the most reported long-term health conditions.

Almost 4.8 million (4,791,516) people reported having one of the ten long-term health conditions listed on the Census form, while nearly 1.5 million (1,490,344) had two of these health conditions and over 750,000 (772,142) had three or more of these long-term health conditions. A further one million (1,009,836) indicated that they had at least one other long-term health condition that was not listed on the form.

The proportion of those with a long-term health condition increased with age. More than three out of every five (62.9 per cent) people aged 65+ reported having at least one long-term health condition compared with one out of every five (22.1 per cent) 15–34 year olds.

Females were more likely to report a long-term health condition than males, with 34 per cent (33.9 per cent) of females having one or more long-term health conditions compared with 30 per cent (29.5 per cent) of males. Males most commonly reported asthma and mental health conditions, while the most commonly reported long term health conditions reported by females were arthritis and mental health conditions.

Asthma is the most commonly reported health condition for 0–14 year olds, with a notable difference between male children with 7.4 per cent reporting asthma compared to 5.3 per cent of female children.

Census data on long-term health conditions can be split by other characteristics such as geography, cultural background or family type. For example, the 2021 Census shows over half of people born in Greece (56.1 per cent) and Italy (53.7 per cent) reported one or more long-term health conditions.

Dr David Gruen AO, Australian Statistician, said “For the first time, we have data on long-term health conditions across the whole population. This is critical data to inform planning and service delivery decisions about how treatment and care is provided for all Australians.

Census data will help provide a more detailed picture of Australians’ health. Census data complements existing ABS health surveys by providing additional insights about the communities that require services to support complex health needs”.

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For further information about 2021 Census data go to:

 www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data.

NOTE:

• The Census net undercount was 0.7% (190,044 persons).

• The Northern Territory recorded the highest net undercount (6.0%) while the Australian Capital Territory recorded a net overcount (-0.6%).

• Males were more likely to be missed in the Census (1.3% net undercount) compared with females (0.2%).

• The net undercount for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was 17.4%.

The total net undercount on the night in New South Wales was 0.0%. This was attributed by the ABS to people having limited movement across the state due to COVID-19 lockdowns in place at the time.

Affordable housing remains an issue in New South Wales and the Northern Rivers region

This was the situation in 2020 in the NSW Northern Rivers region......

House of Representatives, Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs, Inquiry into homelessness in Australia: June 2020, Social Futures -Submission 141

Northern NSW suffers from chronic homelessness issues. Like many regional communities, it is characterised by relatively low incomes, lack of employment opportunities, high welfare dependency, significant pockets of social disadvantage, limited stocks of affordable housing (especially in the coastal areas) and a lack of regular public transport. The Northern NSW region has an above average Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population at 4.4 per cent compared to the national average of 2.9 per cent.

This combination of high rents and a critical shortage of available rental accommodation has created severe housing stress among a considerable portion of the community, forcing many into homelessness. With the growth in tourism in some coastal communities, property values have soared and increasing numbers of dwellings are used as short term rental accommodation for visitors and tourists, further reducing available and affordable housing stock for people in the private rental market.

The Richmond Federal Electorate was ranked third highest across the whole of Australia for rental stress at 43 per cent (7,390 households).

Housing stress is particularly high among renter households at 38.8 per cent compared to 28.4 per cent for NSW and 28 per cent for Australia.

The four least affordable local government areas for renters in regional NSW are located within the Northern Rivers.

The average monthly rental vacancy rate for the Northern Rivers over the 12 months to April 2020 was 1.8 per cent. This is a very tight market compared to Sydney where the vacancy rate is 3.4 per cent.

There is substantial pressure in regional housing markets in NSW with most of the regional markets surveyed recording average monthly vacancy rates of 2 per cent or less over the same period.

While the Northern Rivers only represents 4 per cent of the NSW population the region recorded 18.7 per cent of the State’s rough sleepers on Census night in 2016 (up from 18.4 per cent in 2011).

Affordable housing and rental stress remains an issue.....

 The Guardian, 6 February 2022:

In the already Covid-stretched hospitals of northern New South Wales, health workers are struggling with another growing pressure caused by the pandemic.

House prices have soared in Byron Bay and surrounding areas since Covid lockdowns and work-from-home inspired many to flee the city for a sea or tree change.

And while the impacts on buyers or renters in the area have been well documented, hospital workers say it’s having far-reaching effects on the community’s health.

The consequences of the housing crush are being felt at hospitals such as Ballina, where nurse and New South Wales Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) representative Suzie Melchior works.

“That’s not just staff struggling to get permanent housing, but we’ve seen people who are almost itinerant,” she said.

“We’re not used to people living out of their vehicles, their cars. That seems to be a new thing.”

Every additional stressor is being felt due to the surge in demand brought on by Covid, and already prevalent GP shortages.

“They don’t have a GP so they’re coming to us for their basic healthcare needs,” Melchior said.

“They know they’re not meant to be accessing emergency departments to get their blood pressure medication or their gout medication but they don’t have the option.”

Long-term renter and mother of four Jenny – not her real name – is at breaking point after two years of housing instability, and has seen her health slide as a result.

“There have been moments where I ask, ‘What’s the point in going on?’,” she said. “My stress levels are through the roof. A human right to safety and shelter – there’s nothing remotely close to that now.”

Jenny has a month left at her short-term rental in Alstonville and after months of searching still can’t find a secure and affordable next step.

She is considering buying a caravan or pitching a tent.

“I wouldn’t have considered that in the past but what are our options? What else can we do?” she said.

Melchior said many patients were presenting without Medicare cards because they didn’t have an address for them to be posted to, taking up extra admin time that overworked staff didn’t have.

“There’s a ripple effect,” she said.

“It is small in the scheme of things but if you multiply that across how many other people are having similar issues … it’s big.”

Another local nurse – who wished to remain anonymous – said she was also seeing more patients without a fixed address.

“Even in the maternity unit we see it – new mums living in caravan parks because they can’t find housing,” she told the Guardian……

The Guardian, 25 January 2022:

Nearly half of all people who sought help with homelessness last year in New South Wales did not get it, a new report has shown.

According to data from the Productivity Commission’s annual report on government services, 48.2% of people in Australia’s most populous state who asked for accommodation assistance from specialist homelessness services in the 2020-2021 financial year went without.

That figure represents a substantial increase from five years ago, when 37.2% of people did not receive the help they had requested.

The Productivity Commission report, released on Tuesday, contains detailed information on the performance of Australia’s social support services, including housing, homelessness, aged care, youth justice, child protection and more.

It shows unmet requests for homelessness accommodation services are increasing across Australia, from 30.2% of people going unassisted nationally in 2016–2017, to 32.2% in the last financial year…..

Productivity Commission, Report on Government Services 2022: Housing and Homelessness, 25 January 2022:

Low income earners are particularly susceptible to housing instability as market factors lead to higher private housing prices. ‘Rental stress’, defined as spending more than 30 per cent of gross household income on rent, is a measure of housing affordability for this cohort. In 2017-18, of the 27.1 per cent of Australian households renting in the private sector, 43.4 per cent were low income. Of these households, 50.2 per cent experienced rental stress – largely unchanged over the past 10 years.

Of low income households that were CRA [Commonwealth Rental Assistance] recipients at end June 2021, 72.5 per cent would have experienced rental stress without CRA. With CRA, 45.7 per cent still experienced rental stress…..

In 2021 the percentage of NSW households considered to be under rental stress:

• At more than 30% household income on rent.

Receiving no housing assistance payment from the federal government – 75.2%;

With rental assistance payment (CRA) from federal government – 48.5%.

• At more than 50% household income on rent.

Receiving no housing assistance payment from the federal government – 35.1%;

With rental assistance payment (CRA) from federal government – 20.4%.

In 2020-21 there were 321,509 eligible dependent children living in renting households which received Commonwealth Rental Assistance.

As at 30 June 2021, nationally there was a total of 400 792 households and 422 753 social housing dwellings (tenancy rental units for community housing), excluding ICH [Indigenous Community Housing]. In addition, as at 30 June 2020 (latest available data), there were 16 363 households and 15 053 permanent dwellings managed by government funded ICH organisations.

The total number of low income households in all categories of social housing in NSW as of 30 June 2021 was 141,597.

The occupancy rate of all NSW social housing categories is high. Only between est. 3-5% of all social housing stock was available to new tenants on 30 June 2021.

There has been a marked rise in community housing stock in NSW. However this in part reflects a transfer of 13,465 public housing dwellings (under management or held by title) to community housing organizations between 1 July 2018 & 30 June 2021, rather than an significant increase in total social housing stock numbers overall.

For decades the NSW Government has indulged in shifting deck chairs around on the Titanic rather than addressing the sinking proportion of social and affordable housing in the overall for sale or rental residential housing mix. 

By 2019 the NSW shortfall in social and affordable housing projected unmet need was est. 316,700 units by 2036 - est. 99,700 of those units representing the shortfall in rural & regional New South Wales.

SOCIAL HOUSING STOCK NSW 30 JUNE 2012 to 30 JUNE 2021