Empty_house

The role of Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA) in housing, financial, well-being and health outcomes

Over a third of Australian households are currently private or public renters, with homeownership becoming more challenging to achieve as house price growth accelerates and income growth remains sluggish. Regardless of whether or not households aspire to homeownership, the current macroeconomic environment is characterised by rising costs of living, in part due to rising housing costs. In particular, rents currently make up around 6 percent of the CPI basket, making it the second largest household expenditure class.

This project will address the following questions:

  1. What are the effects of CRA receipt on housing, financial, well-being and health outcomes of low-income and privately-renting parents and their children?
  2. As the Australian Government announced a CRA payment increase in the 2023–2024 budget, what are the impacts of this payment increase on housing, financial, well-being and health outcomes of low-income and privately-renting parents and their children?

The research will also examine the role of CRA in affecting intergenerational transmission of disadvantages in terms of having poor housing, financial, health and well-being outcomes.

Lead Researcher: Professor Chris Leishman, University of South Australia

Project Number:  32345