Indigenous access to mainstream public and community housing

Summary

Mainstream public and community housing provide accessible housing options for many Indigenous households, but steps are required to build on current initiatives by jurisdictions to measure and enhance levels of Indigenous access.


Project Number: 80234
Research Theme: Indigenous Housing
Project Leader: Flatau, Paul
Funding Year: 2003
Research Centre: Western Australia

Research and Policy Bulletin

Research & Policy Bulletin

Issue 065: Indigenous Access to Mainstream Public and Community Housing

Access by Indigenous people to mainstream public housing has increased in the past four years with the number of newly assisted Indigenous tenants growing by 11.6 per cent over the period 2000-01 to 2003-04. There is a need to further boost the stock of larger dwellings to reduce overcrowding for Indigenous households in mainstream public housing, and to continue to improve the sustainability of tenancies.

Download nowDownload the PDF
62 KB PDF Document

Description

The aim of this project was to conduct an analysis of the level of representation of Indigenous people in mainstream public and community housing programs and to identify and evaluate policy actions and measures that address impediments to mainstream access and the sustainability of tenancies in public and community housing programs experienced by the Indigenous population. The key research questions posed in the project were: What is the level of representation of Indigenous people in mainstream public and community housing programs? Do Indigenous people face impediments in accessing mainstream public and community housing assistance programs and, if so, what is the nature and extent of these impediments? What is being done by Federal, State and Territory authorities and agencies to facilitate access to mainstream public and community housing assistance programs by Indigenous people and how effective are existing measures in improving access? What else could be done to improve access? What evidence exists on the sustainability of mainstream public and community housing tenancies among Indigenous people? What is being done to sustain tenancies of Indigenous households within public and community housing programs?  What else could be done to improve sustainability in mainstream public and community housing? The project aimed to provide HMAC (Housing Ministers Advisory Committee), the Standing Committee on Indigenous Housing (SCIH), the Policy and Research Working Group (PRWG) and other Federal, State and Territory policy authorities and agencies with evidence from all Australian jurisdictions, and at different levels of spatial aggregation, on the level of representation of Indigenous people in mainstream public and community housing and the difficulties and barriers faced by Indigenous people in accessing mainstream housing assistance programs and sustaining tenancies in mainstream public and community housing programs. This project adopted an inter-disciplinary, multi-jurisdictional approach to the issue of the representation of Indigenous people in mainstream and community housing. The project involved:  an analysis of large scale administrative and survey unit record data  a survey of Federal, State and Territory providers a policy and best practice literature review an extensive case study analysis built around sites that bring out a broad range of issues surrounding access to mainstream public and community housing. This mix of methods adopted in the project provided a means of triangulating and verifying the validity and reliability in addition to deepening analysis of the project’s findings.

More Information

Download now Research and Policy Bulletin: Issue 065: Indigenous Access to Mainstream Public and Community Housing
62 KB PDF Document

Download now Positioning Paper: No. 082: Indigenous access to mainstream Public and Community Housing
2.2 MB PDF Document

Download now Final Report: No. 085: Indigenous access to mainstream public and community housing
2.36 MB PDF Document