This month CHIA was pleased to make a joint submission with National Shelter to the National Housing and Homelessness Plan Issues paper. Our organisations want to see the Plan setting out an ambitious, evidence-based strategy and a framework for actions by local, state and national governments. The Plan must:
- Identify housing policy challenges and define overarching aims
- Specify reform directions/measures consistent with strategic aims
- Quantify resources needed to achieve those aims
Our submission sets out our priorities for the whole housing system and links to the multiple research reports that offer concrete ways to effect change. Our priority reforms for the life of the plan are as follows:
- A national long-term delivery program to build the social and affordable homes needed to address unmet and projected future needs enabling long-term construction pipelines, investment planning and sustained industry development
- Planning reforms to support efficient delivery of social and affordable homes
- Funded responses to address unmet housing needs in regional, rural and remote communities in collaboration with State and Territory governments
- Tenancy law reform to improve renters’ rights and conditions
- Tax reform to support achievement of long-term housing outcomes over speculative investment returns
- Reform of income support and Commonwealth Rent Assistance payments to create a closer link to housing costs
- Increased assistance for low to moderate income households to enter home ownership
- Healthy homes meeting energy, condition, and amenity standards
- Implementation of a national climate change home retrofit strategy
- Establishment of the national social and affordable housing regulatory system that currently exists in name only.
The submission also considers the institutions necessary to ensure the Plan is successfully delivered. We have recommended that Housing Australia becomes the national agency tasked with leading development and delivery of the Plan and coordination with other agencies, States and Territories.
We have suggested that the Plan should have specific but integrated sub plans to tackle homelessness, and for housing for people with a disability. For Indigenous housing and homelessness the plan should be led by First Nations peoples.