Media release | Monday, 22 January 2024
The NSW government must significantly boost investment in social housing after a report showed funding has slipped to historically low levels, says Homelessness NSW.
The Written Off report by Everybody’s Home finds investment in social housing under Commonwealth-State Housing Agreements is less today than 40 years ago.
“The failure to invest in social housing by all levels of government in recent years is a massive contributor to our homelessness crisis,” said Homelessness NSW CEO Dom Rowe.
“We desperately need more social housing so vulnerable people, including mothers and children fleeing domestic violence, can get out of homelessness and into a safe and secure home.
“Building more social homes will also take heat out of the private rental market and pay dividends by easing pressure on our schools, hospitals and community services over the long term.”
Last year 68,000 people used NSW homelessness services while 1 in 2 people needing help were turned away – and many more didn’t ask for help at all.
The Written Off report finds:
Investment in social housing under Commonwealth-State Housing Agreements was $2.5 billion in 1982, compared with $1.6 billion in 2022
Adjusted for inflation, investment in 1982 was five times greater than 2022 levels
The federal government spent $164 per person on social housing in 1982 but just $61 per person in 2022
