AHURI has release a report on the quality of Australia’s housing stock and the impacts this has on people’s health, and the climate.
Key points
• Poor building quality, conditions and environmental performance is prevalent in Australia’s housing stock. In a large, national survey in 2022, 70 per cent of households reported one or more major building problems.
• The ability to accurately measure and monitor the characteristics of the housing stock as a whole has never been greater. The current national data infrastructure is insufficient.
• Australian policy that deals with housing standards is fragmented across federal and state and territory governments, and portfolios. When compared to international benchmarks, it is weak and overly reliant on voluntary measures.
• A national strategy to improve housing standards should be developed. Short-term, considerable opportunities exist to enhance housing standards via mandatory disclosure of performance at point of sale or lease, minimum standards in the rental sector and stronger performance requirements for new houses.
• Policy action will have to balance lobbyist resistance. Lessons from two case studies show that change is possible but requires mobilisation of a strong narrative by advocates.
You can read the executive summary or full report here.