With acute housing stress becoming an all-too-familiar tale for a growing number of Tasmanians, Homelessness Week presents an opportunity to take action to significantly reduce instances of homelessness across the state.
TasCOSS CEO, Ms Adrienne Picone, said the security and stability provided by a safe, stable, affordable home could not be overstated.
“A home is a basic human right and the foundation of a good life,” said Ms Picone. “A home is a place of rest and respite, and connects us to community, to work, to schools and learning.
“Housing is the most frequently reported issue from TasCOSS Members. They know that safe, stable, affordable accommodation is the foundation for fulfilling other wellbeing outcomes, and as this foundation has become harder to secure it is having a devastating effect on people’s lives.
“More and more Tasmanians are being forced to live in a state of flux, couch-surfing or sleeping rough, or at risk of losing the roof over their head because they can’t keep up with rising rents, mortgage repayments and other bills.
“All the data points to a housing system that is broken — in Tasmania the wait list for social housing is growing, more than doubling in the past 10 years to 4,709 as of June 2024, with the average time people are spending on the wait list burgeoning from approximately 19 weeks to up over 90 weeks.
“Compounding the problem is the fact the rental vacancy rate is too low to keep rents at an affordable level, tracking well under the Government’s own figure of a healthy 3%, and homes are increasingly out of reach for new buyers, with stamp duty exemptions only serving to drive prices higher.
“We know there are solutions, but policy choices at all levels of government aren’t backed by the evidence or the urgency we desperately need.”
Ms Picone said this Homelessness Week is an opportunity for all governments to invest in our collective future, one where all Australians have a safe, secure place to call home.
“We call on the Tasmanian Government to ensure its 20 year Housing Strategy and Action Plan prioritises those most in need, particularly people on low incomes who more than anything need more social housing built as a matter of urgency,” she said.
“It should also clamp down on entire homes leaving the private rental market for the short-term rental market. In the last year, Hobart saw an alarming increase of 10% of entire homes added to short-stay accommodation, while Devonport saw a whopping 40% rise. These are homes that could or should have housed renters. Limiting rent rises is another action the government could take.
“The Government should also commence an immediate review of the Residential Tenancy Act to ensure it is fit-for-purpose in a housing market where more Tasmanians are staying in the private rental market for the long-term, if not permanently.”
A Snapshot of Homelessness in Tasmania:
- The cost of not acting on the need for social and affordable housing in Australia is estimated to be $25 billion per year by 2051 (SGS Economics and Planning).
- Close to one-in-ten Mission Australia Youth Survey 2023 respondents, aged between 15 to 19, had experienced homelessness in the past 12 months.
- In 2021, a total of 2,350 people in Tasmania were homeless, up from 1,622 in 2016 (ABS Census).
Please visit the Shelter Tasmania website to find out more about the theme and access the full calendar of events. You can support Homelessness Week by wearing purple and by using the hashtags #HW2024, #HousingEndsHomelessness or #EverybodysHome on social media.