Key Points
- The State of the Housing System report has found Australia's housing market is "far from healthy".
- The report has predicted the situation will worsen, and construction targets for new homes will not be met.
- The National Housing Supply and Affordability Council is calling for the system to better meet community demands.
Australia's housing system is failing to meet demand, and new supply will still be 39,000 homes short of new demand by 2028-29.
The State of the Housing System 2024 report, released by the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council, has reviewed housing affordability in Australia.
Now, the council is calling for the system to be more responsive to community needs.
Council chair Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz said there is no denying Australia is in a housing crisis.
"It is a longstanding crisis, fundamentally driven by the failure to deliver enough housing of all types — from social housing through to market home ownership," she said.
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"The problems in our housing market are deep-seated and there is no easy fix.
"Building a better system will require focused, coordinated and consistent effort over the long run across all jurisdictions."
By the numbers
According to the report, 169,000 households are on public housing waiting lists and 122,000 people are experiencing homelessness.
Waiting lists for First Nations housing rose by 10 per cent over the 2022-23 financial year.
The report found the primary reason for worsening affordability was the system failing to supply enough housing.
Only 172,000 dwellings were completed in 2023 — the lowest annual number of completions in the past decade.
The council's modelling projected Australia will fail to meet its target of 1.2 million new homes.
"At its heart, this crisis is about insufficient supply, but many contributing factors are making it more acute — the resumption of migration at pace, rising interest rates, skills shortages, elevated construction company insolvencies, weak consumer confidence and cost inflation to name just a few," Lloyd-Hurwitz said.
The report found worsening affordability is "particularly problematic" for vulnerable groups including low-income households, those fleeing domestic or family violence, First Nations Australians, and young people.
The council has proposed 10 focus areas for improving the system including investment in social housing, boosting construction capacity, and First Nations outcomes.
