Women aged 55 years and over are one of the fastest growing populations experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity in Australia. To address this, the State Government has released its Improving Housing Security for Older Women report, developed by the Housing Security for Older Women Taskforce.
The report has 40 recommendations across four focus areas for both short and longer-term actions to provide immediate relief to older, single women to improve their housing security and prevent experiences of homelessness. The four focus areas include: new supply models and land use, private rental, services and social housing.
“Our key goal throughout this process has been to listen to older women to improve their housing security, learn how we can help prevent them from falling into homelessness and how best to help them if they do” said the Hon Nat Cook MP, Minister for Human Services.
The 21-member Taskforce started work in January 2023. It worked for eight months, bringing together a range of lived experience, women with a range of other expertise, networks and community to consider holistic and practical options to support older women facing housing insecurity. Office for Ageing Well was a member of the Taskforce.
Report recommendations include:
- Exploring co-housing or co-located housing options
- Investing in effective intervention to help prevent older women falling into homelessness
- Making it easier to rent dwellings like granny flats and studio apartments
- Encouraging build-to-rent projects
- Encouraging and enabling community advocacy, advice and services to ensure individuals feel supported and empowered
- Increasing and improving social housing
- Improving accessibility and energy efficiency in housing
- Advocating for higher income support payments
- Reforming residential tenancy and housing safety laws.
Whilst there is still much work to be done, pleasingly, there has already been progress made on some of the recommendations, including making it easier to rent dwellings like granny flats, a commitment to implement the accessibility and energy efficiency amendments in the National Construction Code, and significant changes to the Residential Tenancies Act 1995 are in progress.
For more information and to read the full report visit www.housing.sa.gov.au/hsfow