AHURI announces the funded research activities of the 2024 National Housing Research Program

AHURI is pleased to announce the funded research activities of the 2024 National Housing Research Program. The 2024 program has funded a major Inquiry focused on construction constraints affecting the supply of housing, as well as 14 research projects addressing a wide range of housing system challenges. 

‘AHURI is looking for solutions for many of the most urgent challenges facing Australia’s housing systems; in particular the Inquiry investigating construction constraints is a topic of national importance,’ says Dr Michael Fotheringham, Managing Director of AHURI.

‘We need to understand the opportunities for innovation in housing construction to be able to address the shortfall in supply, and to improve affordability. The breadth of the research program reflects the diversity of our housing system challenges – for homelessness responses, for provision of public and social housing, for the private rental system, for homeowners and investors, as well as for a range of specific groups with particular housing needs. The research program also addresses system issues such as how we monitor rental vacancy, how we understand homelessness, and how we measure the impact of housing assistance.’

The 2024 research activities have been determined in collaboration with state/territory and federal government officials, industry and non-government experts, and will examine a range of contemporary housing, homelessness and urban policy questions.

AHURI Inquiry

Inquiry into overcoming construction constraints for the supply of new detached and high-rise housing
This research will investigate constraints in the housing construction sector associated with supply chain, workforce, technology, regulation, system of work, and markets. 
Lead Researcher: Ron Wakefield

The Inquiry is supported by three research projects: 

• Innovation for more efficient, resilient and responsive housing construction industry: international lessons
  This project will identify the international innovations most likely to deliver housing construction productivity gains while achieving other social, environmental, economic objectives.
  Lead Researcher: Andrew Beer
• Transforming detached housing construction: policy solutions to overcome productivity constraints
  This project will investigate the construction phase of detached housing development to understand how it impacts on new housing delivery and supply, and what interventions may improve performance.
  Lead Researcher: Ehsan Gharaie
• Transforming high-rise housing construction: policy solutions to overcome productivity constraints
  This project will investigate the construction phase of high-rise housing development to understand how it impacts on new housing delivery and supply, and what interventions may improve performance.
  Lead Researcher: Chy Lin Lee

AHURI research projects

Best practice in engaging Indigenous communities and organisations to improve housing outcomes
With findings drawn from a literature review, expert panel and consultations, this Investigative Panel will provide new insights about how enhanced engagement with Indigenous people can be actioned to inform housing policy and practice.
Lead Researcher: Megan Moskos

Improving housing outcomes for people with disability: policy and practice initiatives
The focus of this Investigative Panel project is to identify changes to policy and practice that will improve housing outcomes for people with disability, including by providing insights into what the sector and people with a disability consider to be ‘good’ housing outcomes. 
Lead Researcher: Monica Cuskelly 

Demystifying the rental vacancy rate measure: a critical review and policy implications
This project will critically assess the Australian rental vacancy rate, a market signal shaping housing supply and rental policy decisions. 
Lead Researcher: Margaret Reynolds 

Workplace trauma on the housing and homelessness frontline
This project examines the prevalence and impacts of workplace trauma on frontline workers in social housing and homelessness services in Australia. 
Lead Researcher: Deborah Batterham 

Australia’s multi-provider social housing systems
This project investigates Australia’s multi-provider social housing systems, comparing international and local policy and will explore options to sustain, strengthen and improve Australia’s multi-provider social housing systems. 
Lead Researcher: Julie Lawson 

Short term rental accommodation: models, impacts and policy responses
This project charts a national typology of short term rental accommodation, quantifying housing impacts across metropolitan and regional case studies. 
Lead Researcher: Nicole Gurran 

Shared equity programs in Australia: features, impacts and growth potential
This project will examine the objectives and characteristics of government-led shared equity models and will uncover features that improve outcomes for both home purchasers and governments to support the design of sustainable, shared equity programs in Australia. 
Lead Researcher: Rachel Ong ViforJ 

Insights into short stays: history, statistics and landlord perspectives 
This project will examine how short stay accommodation has changed over time and will use extensive quantitative data to map business models and will equip policymakers with insights into the business models and perspectives of STRA landlords in capital cities and strategic tourist locations. 
Lead Researcher: Michaela Lang

Better futures: supported accommodation for unaccompanied children and young people
Grounded by the lived expertise of unaccompanied children, young people and practitioners who support them, this mixed-method project investigates need, existing service strengths, gaps and opportunities, to determine best-practice supported accommodation models for unaccompanied children and young people aged 12-24 experiencing or at-risk of homelessness in Australia. 
Lead Researcher: Catherine Robinson 

Implications of ‘data hunger’ in rental housing: protecting Australian tenants
This project will investigate the scope and outcomes of technologically-enabled data collection practices in Australia’s private and social rental sectors. 
Lead Researcher: Sophia Maalsen 

Public housing transfers: longer-term impacts on investment, tenant experience and sector outcomes
This project will critically examine the longer-term impacts of public housing transfer programs across Australia using data analysis and case studies. 
Lead Researcher: Edgar Liu 

Safe and secure accommodation solutions for seasonal workers in regional industries
This project analyses barriers to safely accommodating seasonal workers in regional Australia and will generate a set of policy responses for use in regional locations that address labour shortages and contribute to safe and secure working conditions for seasonal workers.
Lead Researcher: Tod Jones 

Small-area analysis and future projections of social housing change
This data project will explore public housing net change over 2006-2021 per SA1 in Australian capital cities and regional areas and will consider local area trends, concentrations, density, amenity and potential stock transfers to understand future scenarios and policy directions. 
Lead Researcher: Stephen Glackin 

The role of Commonwealth Rent Assistance in housing, financial, well-being and health outcomes
This project conducts analysis to understand the impacts of Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA) on homelessness, financial insecurity, well-being and health of low income parents and children living in private rental. This project also examines the role of CRA in intergenerational transmission of disadvantage and implications for policy development. 
Lead Researcher: Chris Leishman 

Understanding homelessness - new insights with new data
This project will merge data from a Specialist Homelessness Service provider with unit record files from the Multi-Agency Data Integration Project to better understand the relationship between homelessness interventions, income support patterns and housing trajectories. 
Lead Researcher: Stephen Whelan