Housing

Housing

The appropriateness and affordability of housing need to be addressed as a matter of urgency. As outright home ownership decreases and the shortage of affordable rentals worsens, age can be a significant factor in intensifying housing stress. Nationally, older people are a growing group presenting for specialist housing assistance and there is also a growing number of older people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness in Queensland. The number of older women who are becoming homeless is of particular concern.

Another issue of major concern for older people is access to objective, sound information and advice. More work is needed to support older people to make informed decisions about their living situations that support their future wellbeing.

We continue to advocate for immediate action on housing. This includes support for Queenslanders to understand and make informed decisions about housing options, their rights and responsibilities, and available protections.

To support people to have security in their own homes, we advocate for increased housing security for older renters including those requiring home modifications, increased housing solutions that reflect Liveable Housing Design Guidelines, and increased funding limits and permitted scope for the Home Assist Secure program.

We support immediate action on homelessness, including through a housing first approach to homelessness with coordinated access to supports and a specialist older persons focus. 

What we do

We have been actively involved in the reviews of legislation on Manufactured Home Parks and Retirement Villages, where we have advocated strongly and successfully for more consumer-friendly laws.

We were involved in developing and delivering the Right Where You Live program which provided information on living in manufactured home parks and retirement villages.

We were also part of the Government’s Advisory Taskforce on Residential Transition of Older Queenslanders to explore emerging issues in the housing and related needs of older people.

We support research on housing, including advising on the Housing for the Aged Action Group’s Ageing on the Edge project, which highlighted the experiences and specific needs of older people at risk of homelessness in Queensland. 

Find more information

Are you interested in the Ageing on the Edge project? You can access the report here.
Read a summary of the Right Where You Live project here.
Read the ‘Doing It Tough’ Queensland Older Women’s Experience of Poverty report here.