States and Territories agree to ongoing support for National Housing Research Program

State and Territory Ministers agreed to continue support for the National Housing Research Program conducted by AHURI at a meeting of Housing and Homelessness Ministers held in early November.

AHURI welcomes the support from the Ministers in continuing the important work of the Program in finding evidence-based solutions to Australian housing and homelessness issues and contributing to ongoing policy development.

AHURI also presented a report to the meeting, previously commissioned by the Ministers, on future funding options for homelessness. As a result, the Ministers agreed that funding certainty for homelessness beyond June 2017 was critical, and noted the importance of an early decision on funding arrangements to ensure the continuity of homelessness services.

The communique from the meeting, which is now available online, outlines other key discussion topics from the meeting including the draft 2016 COAG Progress Report on Housing and Homelessness, the impact of the NDIS on housing and the development of a rent deduction scheme.