Home Time submission and appearance to Select Committee on Intergenerational Housing Inequity
On behalf of the Home Time campaign, Homelessness Australia, Melbourne City Mission and Urbis made a submission to the Select Committee Inquiry into Intergenerational Housing Inequity. Home Time representatives Shorna Moore and Kate Colvin appeared before the Select Committee on 15 June.
This submission outlines the nature, scale and distribution of intergenerational housing inequity in Australia, with a particular focus on the disproportionate impact on children and young people who are unaccompanied, experiencing homelessness, or at heightened risk of it. While housing affordability pressures are now widespread, the evidence presented here indicates that younger Australians face distinct and compounding disadvantages across home ownership, private rental and social housing pathways - disadvantages that are increasingly shaped by whether a young person can draw on family housing and financial support.
Key recommendations:
Develop and maintain a national pool of 15,000 dedicated youth tenancies.
Remove the youth housing penalty that excludes young people from accessing social housing tenancies. This can be achieved by increasing or supplementing income support payments, adjustments to Commonwealth Rent Assistance settings, or modifications to funding assessment frameworks, to align the financial viability of youth housing with that of other priority cohorts.
Ensure housing is linked with supports to enable young people to pursue their goals and transition to independence. This will require coordinated action across federal, state and territory governments and long-term investment that aligns capital and operating funding.
Explicit recognition of youth housing and support within national strategies and funding programs.