Baptist Care Australia welcomes the release of the State of the Housing System 2025 report by the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council (NHSAC).
22.05/2025
The report is unambiguous that Australia's housing crisis is getting worse, detailing some alarming facts:
- The supply of new housing in Australia is the lowest in a decade, with net new completed dwellings in 2024 at 155,000, almost 80,000 less than the estimated underlying demand
- Australia is projected to miss the 1.2 million homes by 2032 target under the Housing Accord by over 163,000 houses, and even more when factoring in demolitions. No State or Territory is on track to meet their target share
- Australian social housing is fewer than 4% of total housing stock, much less than the OECD average of 7%, and it's getting worse
- Rental stress is at a record high with over 50% of lower-income renter households under rental stress
Baptist Care Australia CEO Dr Robyn Sampson said:
"The report is a clear wake up call. Without a significant increase to the government's social and affordable housing investment, the crisis will get worse."
The Report made five policy recommendations:
- Increasing investment in social and affordable housing through proven mechanisms, and reviewing regulatory frameworks for the social and affordable housing sector
- Improving construction sector capacity and productivity
- Applying best practice principles to planning systems and ensuring developable land is made available
- Supporting better outcomes for renters
- Ensuring the tax system supports housing supply and affordability
Baptist Care Australia supports the Council in declaring that social housing numbers need to be raised to 10% of total housing stock and making clear that for every $1 invested in social housing, there's a $2 return to the community in reduced homelessness, better health and education outcomes and improved workforce participation.
Baptist Care Australia acknowledges the government's ongoing work in dealing with the housing crisis, led by the Housing Australia Future Fund. While this is a step forwards, it is no where near enough to properly deal with the problem at hand.
"Following the recent Federal Election, the Government is not lacking for power to enact the necessary policies and investments to accelerate fixing the housing crisis"