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There is a complex two-way relationship between mental health, housing and homelessness, where major life events and a person’s circumstances (e.g. mental health status, housing engagement, income, family support etc.) interact so that mental ill-health can lead to homelessness and, vice versa, homelessness may act as a trigger for mental ill-health.

In contemporary discussion of public and community housing (collectively known as ‘social housing’) in Australia, the sector is often described as experiencing ‘residualisation’. What does this term mean and how did social housing become ‘residualised?’

2019 marks 20 years of the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) Limited. In 1999, joint funding commitments from the Australian and all state and territory governments established the National Housing Research Program and AHURI Limited – the independent, not-for-profit company at the centre of AHURI’s national network of policy makers, university and industry partners.

Deciding when a house is underutilised, occupied efficiently or crowded is important in determining social policy about housing. With people living in ‘severely’ crowded dwellings—the fastest growing category of homelessness—it is important to understand exactly what is meant when we refer to crowding.

The Australian Government has outlined the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme to support first home buyers who are struggling to save the large deposits (usually around 20% of purchase price) required to buy a house.