On 6 August, the Senate established an inquiry into Social Housing through the Senate Economics Reference Committee. The inquiry’s terms of reference are quite broad, including (among other matters):
- The economic and social benefits of investment in social housing
- The impacts of current Commonwealth and state/territory investment in social housing
- The benefits of a steady pipeline of social housing investment for the development of Australia’s modern construction industry;
- Opportunities for further investment in public and community housing, including consideration of direct public spending along with different delivery and investment models in Australia and internationally;
- Appropriate governance and administrative arrangements to deliver social housing at a scale to meet current and future need;
- The efficacy of rent-to-buy schemes
The inquiry offers another opportunity to highlight some of the key policy considerations that will support continued growth in social housing – in particular, the essential role of community housing in meeting the ongoing need for housing to support people on lower incomes.
