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There is not a single property across Australia – or even a room in a shared house – that's affordable for someone on youth allowance, according to a new report from support organisation Anglicare Australia.
And just three properties Australia-wide were deemed affordable for those on a JobSeeker allowance.
The affordability snapshot found rental affordability is the worst it has ever been, with Anglicare describing its findings as "nothing short of horrifying".
"For those fortunate enough to find a home, they will be forced to choose between putting food on the table and staying warm this winter or keeping a roof over their head," the report said.
Declining availability
The snapshot report released today tested 45,115 rental listings in March across the country to find what is affordable for low-income earners.
It compared the properties with various household types and found affordability "is the worst it's ever been", with average rents $200 per week higher than pre-pandemic levels.
A property was considered affordable if it required less than 30 per cent of a household's income (and had an adequate number of bedrooms), as paying more than that puts renters in housing stress.
Its data revealed just 13.4 per cent of rental listings across the country are affordable for a family of four with both parents on a full-time minimum wage and only 1.8 per cent are affordable for a single parent on a full-time minimum wage.
For a single person out of work and on the JobSeeker payment, the only affordable properties were two rooms in a shared house, or a single unit in rural New South Wales.
In WA, not a single property for someone on JobSeeker or youth allowance would be affordable.
Anglicare Australia executive director Kasy Chambers said the vacancy rate for rentals is adding pressure to a stretched market.
"Every year we say it's getting worse and it's hard to imagine how much worse it can get," she said.
"But this year, there's just about zilch that's affordable."
She said the average dual income household on minimum wage would have previously found about a third of properties affordable, but that's drastically changed.
"We can really see that the unaffordability that used to affect people on the very lowest of incomes is climbing the income level," she said.
'It can happen to anyone'
For some, the issue of Australia's housing crisis is closer to home.
Caitlin* was working in the homelessness sector last year in Perth when she almost became homeless herself due to steep rental increases.
The 33-year-old was living in a dual-income household in Perth's inner east, caring for her 15-year-old child who has severe autism, when things started to snowball.
From October last year, Caitlin and her partner started to fall behind on rent and were facing eviction notices.
"I work in a position where I'm supposed to be helping people and now I'm someone who reached out for that help – I had a lot of shame around that," she said.
Come December, she was about to be forced onto the streets when a state government scheme saved her.
Caitlin accessed the WA government's rent relief program, which allows tenants in private rentals to access a one-off support payment of up to $5,000 to cover rental arrears.
The scheme was able to pay off a backlog of rent owed and enabled her to "get back on her feet".
"This [housing stress] is not discriminating, it's affecting such a wide cross section of people," she said.
"Without a program like this, at best we would have had to split up as a family and live in share houses, at worst, I can't even think about it."
Tax reform, federal involvement needed
Anglicare Australia outlined bold reform to address Australia's housing crisis, including tax reform and federal government involvement in the building of social housing.
The report indicated "an overhaul of the tax regime" is needed – including the capital gains tax discount being phased out over a period of 10 years and negative gearing deductions to be phased out for new investors in the private market.
It also suggested the federal government should become directly involved in the building and funding of social housing across all states – similar to policies of the 1980s.
"To meaningfully tackle this crisis, sustained capital investment is needed over longer periods of time," the report said.
"Anglicare Australia believes that to make a difference, we need the government to build at least 25,000 new homes every year for the next two decades."
Minister for Housing Julie Collins said the federal government had a "broad and ambitious housing reform agenda" to give more Australians a home.
The government has set a target of building 1.2 million new homes by 2029.
It has set up a $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund, expected to help build 30,000 new social and affordable rental properties, and a $2 billion Social Housing Accelerator for around 4,000 new social homes.
Ms Collins said the government was already helping states and territories to address the issue.
"We are working with states and territories, and housing and homelessness organisations, on the development of the National Housing and Homelessness Plan," she said.
"The plan will help set out a shared national vision on tackling the country's housing challenges across the responsibilities of different levels of government."
The plan is expected to be released later this year.
But it's cold comfort for people like Caitlin, who don't have a backup plan if she's faced with more rental hikes.
*Name has been changed for privacy reasons
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