Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute - AHURI

AHURI welcomes increasing attention by the Australian government on urban policy. The Federal Government has been working with the Urban Policy Forum to develop a comprehensive and targeted National Urban Policy, and is now inviting submissions and feedback from organisations and individuals.

You can have your say via the Australian Government website, where the draft National Urban Policy is also available to be downloaded.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/3L6e0W9

In 2021-22, across Australia over 174,600 households had applied to live in social housing but only 29,100 households were offered a home. The shortage of new social housing lettings means many applicants have no guarantee of when they will be housed. As a result, assisted access to private rental tenancies has become increasingly central to housing assistance programs.

New investigated how policy makers and housing providers can use other forms of housing assistance to support people who are otherwise eligible for social housing and found:
• State and territory governments are using private rental assistance as a way to help households who cannot be housed quickly in social housing
• the effectiveness of private rental assistance schemes is highly dependent on market conditions
• more than 50 per cent of study participants who had previously received private rental assistance could not sustain their rental tenancy
• private rental assistance recipients are finding it increasingly difficult to secure private rental properties.

The report, ‘Getting off the waiting list? Managing housing assistance provision in an era of intensifying social housing shortage’, was undertaken by researchers from University of New South Wales, University of Sydney and RMIT University.

View the full report here: https://bit.ly/3XnPSWl

Fatemeh Aminpour, Iris Levin, Andrew Clarke, Chris Hartley, Emma Barnes, Hal Pawson

We’ve heard great feedback from attendees at our recent Circular economy housing conference held in Sydney in May. If you missed it, the recordings are now available to purchase and view on demand → https://bit.ly/3KDd778

You can purchase sessions individually or all four for a package discount. Discover groundbreaking insights to transform the way we design, build, and decommission homes for a more sustainable, lower carbon residential sector.

The scarcity of new social housing places means Australian governments are having to look to private rental market assistance as a way to support households.

New investigates how policy makers and housing providers can use alternative forms of housing assistance to support people who are otherwise eligible for social housing.

The research found that while private rental assistance has an important role in supplementing social housing waiting lists, successful housing outcomes are difficult to achieve in highly pressurised private rental markets - even with this assistance.

It offers suggestions for how the provision of private rental assistance could be improved.

Read more here: https://bit.ly/3KEFeTo

AHURI's Dr Michael Fotheringham spoke to ABC News this week about what the decline in building approvals over the past few months means for the housing crisis.

Read more:

The latest building stats are in — here's what they say about the future of the housing crisis Industry experts say it's not time to ring the alarm bells over low building approval numbers, but the federal government's plan for 1.2 million homes by 2029 is definitely ambitious.

Join us at the Australian Homelessness Conference 2024 for our session on 'Embedding Lived Experience in policy – challenges and opportunities'.

This session will explore how organisations can embrace and collaborate with individuals who have first-hand experience with homelessness, leading to better outcomes for those experiencing homelessness.

This session will feature perspectives from both the organisations and the people contributing lived experience and expertise, including presentations from:

PJ Humphreys (Sunshine Coast Council)
Ian Campbell (Street Up)
Alan Earls and Charmaine Jones (Public Interest Advocacy Centre)
Dr Sonia Masciantonio (SYC)
Duncan Bainbridge (SA Lived Experience Leadership & Advocacy Network)
Skye Constantine (The University of Queensland)
Christine Thirkell

View the program here → https://bit.ly/3V7UjCQ

First Nations people deserve safe, secure and culturally appropriate housing. For over 20 years AHURI has provided research to inform housing policy and to support better housing outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

View our research library here: https://bit.ly/3Kn0j4A

New has confirmed that when population movements happen between suburbs or regions it can impact on house prices with a ripple effect on multiple housing submarkets.

The research observes how population migration between particular suburbs or regions across Australia affects house prices in other suburbs and regions both nearby and much further away.

The report, ‘House price dynamics and internal migration across Australia’, was undertaken by researchers from University of Tasmania and University of Sydney.

The report is from the inquiry into 'Projecting Australia’s urban and regional futures: population dynamics, regional mobility and planning responses' which will be published with a full analysis later this year.

Read more here: https://bit.ly/4bztiOI

Maria B. Yanotti, Moses Kangogo, Danika Wright, Somwrita Sarkar, Fei Lyu

While the government and industry leaders scramble for solutions to housing insecurity, others are looking around at what they have and deciding to share.

AHURI Managing Director, Michael Fotheringham, joined ABC's The Conversation Hour to discuss people opening their homes to people in need.

https://ab.co/3V4KDry

Population projection models are key tools for governments and providers of housing, infrastructure and services to understand where populations will change in the future, and to plan and prioritise resources. However, ensuring such models are accurate means recognising their underlying assumptions, data and potential for error.

New critically assesses the population projection methods available to Australian decision-makers and planners. It found that because different users need different levels of understanding about future population changes, it is unlikely the existing methods could be unified into one nationally consistent approach that would be accurate enough for everyone’s needs. It also identifies opportunities to improve existing methods.

The report, ‘Improving small area population projects’, was undertaken by researchers from The University of Adelaide, University of South Australia and University of Sydney.

The report is from the inquiry into 'Projecting Australia’s urban and regional futures: population dynamics, regional mobility and planning responses' which will be published later this year.

Read more here: https://bit.ly/3KmChGW

Emma Baker, Neil T Coffee, Kira Page, Lyrian Daniel, Somwrita Sarkar

AHURI's Managing Director Dr Michael Fotheringham spoke with ABC's 7.30 to discuss the impact migration has on Australia's housing crisis.

The segment features discussion on net overseas migration, housing demands, and the future of our communities. Watch it here: https://ab.co/3QYV8LT

We are excited to announce that Tim Richter, Founder, President and CEO of the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness will be a keynote speaker at the Australian Homelessness Conference.

The CAEH leads a national movement of individuals, organisations and communities working together to end in Canada.

Tim will keynote the first plenary 'Working together to end homelessness – away and at home' on the second day of the conference, Wednesday 14 August. Join us for this inspiring and informative session!

!! Register by Friday 31 May to secure the early bird rate and save up to 15% off! https://bit.ly/3V7UjCQ

The 2024 Federal Budget (on Tuesday 14 May 2024) announced a number of funding measures targeted to the housing and homelessness sectors, as well as confirming previous funding and policy actions.

In this Budget the Government champions its ongoing $32 billion plan to help deliver more homes, including $6.2 billion of new initiatives.

Learn more about what’s in the 2024 Federal Budget for housing and homelessness here → https://bit.ly/3WIXsdI

Outcomes-based service models mean service providers get funding when their clients achieve specified results, such as improvements in health and wellbeing or employment.

New examined the implications of transitioning from ‘output-based’ to ‘outcomes-based’ funding arrangements for providing social housing in Australia and found:
• There are significant challenges in attributing client outcomes to individual housing programs, and it is costly and complex for providers to measure
• That a standardised approach to measuring outcomes would help the sector deliver better outcomes for tenants.

The report, ‘The role of outcomes-based frameworks in social housing provision in Australia’, was undertaken by researchers from RMIT University, UNSW, University of Tasmania and Swinburne University of Technology.

View the full report here: https://bit.ly/3WHTD8I

Cameron Duff, Guy Johnson, Hazel Blunden, Ella Horton, Christian A. Nygaard
RMIT University, RMIT College of Business and Law, Centre for Organisations and Social Change (COSC)

Over the last two decades federal and state governments have discussed introducing outcomes-based funding approaches for both the homelessness and social housing sectors.

Latest examines the implications of transitioning from ‘output-based’ to ‘outcomes-based’ funding arrangements for providing social housing in Australia.

The research found there are significant challenges in attributing client outcomes to individual housing programs, and it is costly and complex for providers to measure. It also found that a standardised approach to measuring outcomes would help the sector deliver better outcomes for tenants.

Read more here: https://bit.ly/4bDbl16

RMIT University, RMIT College of Business and Law, Centre for Organisations and Social Change (COSC)

The Australian Homelessness Conference is quickly approaching - Register now to save up to 15% off registration.

The Australian Homelessness Conference, convened by AHURI with host government partner SA Government, is Australia’s largest homelessness conference, bringing together all sectors addressing homelessness in Australia to share new ideas, best practices, and opportunities for system reform.

!! Register by Friday 31 May to secure the early bird rate and save up to 15% off! https://bit.ly/49241e0

This year’s Gathering Momentum program is packed with case studies and practical examples of leading service responses, as well as discussions focused on system level reform and innovation. The program features a strong focus on addressing homelessness experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and on the integration of lived experience perspectives in program and policy design. Click the link above to see the full program.

Read our wrap up of insights from the AHURI one day conference: Circular economy housing; and keep your eyes peeled for session recordings - coming soon!

We are especially grateful to all of our speakers for sharing their expertise and generating inspiring discussions on this important issue which will bring significant transformation and new opportunities to the Australian housing sector of the future.

Thanks also to all those who attended online and in person - your participation made the event a resounding success.

Recordings of the conference sessions will be available for purchase on the AHURI website soon. In the meantime, read the wrap up here → https://bit.ly/3y85xya

The conversation continued at the Circular Economy Housing conference where we heard from Alison Scotland, Tim Wheeler, Roger Swinbourne and Jorge Chapa on how we can encourage circular market behaviours in a panel discussion.

There was also an insightful discussion on building capacity and capability for circular practice in the residential a sector with Ann Austin, Julia Halioua, Cathy Inglis and Carrie Hamilton.

We heard about international developments in policy and practice for circular economy housing from Lasse Lind who joined us virtually from Denmark.

We are thankful to everyone who presented and attended today and allowed us to facilitate a forum that will inform the future of more sustainable Australian housing.

Stay tuned as the recordings of today’s sessions will be available soon.

The Circular Economy Housing conference has begun with some fantastic introductions to what the circular economy means for housing, with presentations from Lisa McLean and Ralph Horne.

The conversation has begun exploring significant challenges and opportunities:
• how do we bring together the various housing sectors and how can they work together towards circularity?
• how can we bring circular economy principles into major investments in social housing in the coming decade?

We are thrilled to be facilitating the discussion about what it will take to decarbonise Australian housing through the full lifecycle from construction through to demolition.

Circular Australia RMIT University

Our in-house consulting group AHURI Professional Services has been working with a number of Aboriginal led organisations in recent months on housing related projects. We were thrilled to receive artist Kylie Caldwell's stunning artwork yesterday, which will be gracing the covers of the upcoming new reports! We are also looking forward to displaying these beautiful pieces in the AHURI office. Each piece tells a story of Indigenous tradition, heritage, and connection to the land.

Time is running out! In-person and virtual registration for our one-day conference 'Circular economy housing - making the shift' closes tonight!

Don't worry if you are not able to make the conference in person. Wherever you are, you can still be part of this groundbreaking discussion by taking advantage of virtual registration.

Listen to renowned experts, and acquire valuable insights into the future of low carbon in Australia. Don't miss out, register now! → https://bit.ly/49NyGfD

We are delighted to release the program for the Australian Homelessness Conference 2024.

This year’s Gathering Momentum program is packed with case studies and practical examples of leading service responses, as well as discussions focused on system level reform and innovation. The program features a strong focus on addressing homelessness experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and on the integration of lived experience perspectives in program and policy design.

Take a look at the program here: https://bit.ly/3y7qbOS

We are grateful to the members of the Program Advisory Committee, Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Working Group and Lived Experience Working Group for their advice and assistance in developing the program for this year’s conference.

‼️ Save up to 15% off registrations with our Early Bird rate, only available until Friday 17 May.

There's only 10 days to go until the highly anticipated 'Circular economy housing - making the shift' conference on Thursday 9 May. Don't delay - registrations close this Thursday 2 May!

👉 Join the conversation virtually or in person in Sydney: https://bit.ly/49NyGfD

Gain invaluable insights from leading experts into what it will take to shift toward sustainable, low embodied carbon housing for Australia.

Ann Austin of Lendlease, Jorge Chapa of Green Building Council of Australia, Julia Halioua of The Footprint Company, Carrie Hamilton of NSW depart Department of Energy, Climate Change and Sustainability, Professor Ralph Horne of RMIT University, Cathy Inglis of Think Brick Australia, Lasse Lind of 3XN/GXN, Lisa McLean of Circular Australia, Alison Scotland of Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council, Roger Swinbourne of Positive Futures Advisory Pty Ltd.

The Federal Government wants to boost pre-fabrication of homes to speed up new housing supply in response to the housing shortage.

AHURI Managing Director, Michael Fotheringham, spoke with ABC's Jon Daly to discuss.

https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/am/can-factory-made-homes-solve-the-housing-crisis-/103771464

Can factory-made homes solve the housing crisis? - ABC listen The Federal Government wants to boost pre-fabrication of homes to speed up new housing supply, as traditional builds face lengthy delays and labour shortages.

Time is running out! There's only 1 week left to register for the conference 'Circular economy housing - making the shift' before registrations close on 2 May.

This one-day conference will feature presentations from local and international experts, and will explore what policy and market interventions could make the biggest impact on reducing carbon emissions from the Australian housing sector.

Can't attend in person? Virtual registration is available. Don't miss out! → https://bit.ly/49NyGfD

Privilege and place, who gets to live inner city now?
AHURI Managing Director, Fotheringham, joined ABC's The Conversation Hour to discuss what happens when people are forced to move further out and away from their home and community.

Listen here: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/theconversationhour/the-conversation-hour/10370391