Indicators
Topic 1: Waiting for social housing
Demand for social housing has grown significantly over the last decade, and is outstripping new supply, as reflected in continued growth in the social housing waitlist.
Tasmania’s wait time for social housing for ‘greatest-need households’ is now the second highest in Australia, after the Northern Territory (see the latest Productivity Commission data).
This lengthy waiting period is putting financial, practical, relationship and emotional strain on many Tasmanians who urgently need access to safe, affordable and appropriate housing.
Recent research by Dr Catherine Robinson and others exploring people’s experiences of lengthy waits for social housing in Tasmania, New South Wales and Queensland found that waiting for social housing was detrimental to people’s health, wellbeing and safety. People described waiting a long time for social housing as horrible, demoralising, traumatic, nerve-wracking, tiring, dreadful, disappointing and soul-destroying. See: Waithood: The experiences of applying for and waiting for social housing
Indicators:
In March 2025:
- There are 5,069 applicants on the social housing waitlist — the highest number ever.
- There are 571 homeless applicants on the social housing waitlist who are entirely without housing (e.g. sleeping in a tent or car). There are another 3,300 applicants staying in temporary or insecure accommodation, such as a shelter or they’re couch surfing.
- There are 753 applicants on the social housing waitlist who are ‘highest priority,’ which includes those leaving homelessness services, prison, hospital or out-of-home care.
- The average wait time for social housing for priority applicants (highest priority and standard priority) is 82.2 weeks, which equates to more than 18 months.
Figure 1.1: The number of applications on Tasmania’s social housing waitlist increased from 3,809 in January 2021 to 5,069 in March 2025. This is an increase of 33% over about four years.
NB: See our Glossary for explanations of:
- Different definitions of homelessness; and
- Priority categories used for the social housing waitlist.
Figure 1.2:
Tasmania’s social housing waitlist and wait times increased between 2020 and 2024:
- The number of ‘highest priority’ applicants increased by 73% from 406 in 2020 to 707 in 2024.
- The number of ‘standard priority’ applicants increased by 30% from 2,390 in 2020 to 3,098 in 2024.
- The number of all applicants increased by 41% from 3,373 in 2020 to 4,745 in 2024.
- The number of people on the social housing waitlist increased by 34% from 6,197 people in June 2020 to 8,273 people in July 2024.
NB: See our Glossary for an explanation of the number of applicants versus the number of people waiting for social housing.
It is unacceptable that Tasmanians are waiting for many months or even years on the social housing waitlist before being allocated a home. Moreover, Tasmanians are waiting longer on average for social housing than people in other states and territories.
This means that, for many Tasmanians, social housing is currently not a realistic solution to their housing insecurity, and many are continuing to struggle in overcrowded, unsafe or unaffordable housing — or sleeping rough.
There is an urgent need for new social housing in Tasmania in addition to what has already been committed. Many organisations, including Shelter Tasmania the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) and Everybody’s Home, have called on governments to deliver more social housing to achieve a target of 10% of all dwellings in Australia being social housing. Homes Tasmania has committed to delivering around 3,100 social housing dwellings by 2032 — that’s far too few to meet the growing demand in Tasmania.
TasCOSS is calling on the Tasmanian Government to
- Take targeted action to significantly reduce the number of applications and people on the social housing waitlist, and reduce the average wait time for social housing for priority applicants.
- Commit to an accelerated program of delivering more social housing, including a clear pathway to social housing being 10% of all dwellings in Tasmania.
Topic 2: Progress on the Homes Tasmania targets
The Tasmanian Government’s Tasmanian Housing Strategy (the Strategy) sets an ambitious vision “to end homelessness by improving the entire housing system and ensuring all Tasmanians have access to safe, appropriate and affordable housing.”
The Strategy makes several commitments:
- Deliver more quality homes, faster;
- Support people in need;
- Improve private market affordability and stability; and
- Enable local prosperity.
The Tasmanian Government has promised to deliver a range of housing for Tasmanians, covering crisis accommodation, social housing including specialist and supported accommodation, affordable rentals, affordable home purchases and affordable land lots.
The Strategy includes a target of delivering 10,000 social and affordable homes by 2032, including a sub-target set in 2023 of 2,000 additional social homes by 2027
However, it is important to note that the Tasmanian Government did not promise to deliver — and is not delivering — 10,000 new homes.
See our Glossary for an explanation of the types of housing support delivered in Tasmania.
Indicators:
In March 2025:
- Homes Tasmania has completed a total of 4,345 homes and land lots, of which only 2,049 are social housing homes.
- There are another 641 deliverables in Homes Tasmania’s pipeline.
- There are still 5,014 deliverables in the concept phase.
Figures 2.1 and 2.2: In March 2025, Homes Tasmania has made progress towards achieving its 10,000 target by 2032 and its 2,000 social housing sub-target by 2027.
Figure 2.3:
In March 2025:
- There are no crisis units in Homes Tasmania’s pipeline or concept phase because it has delivered on its target for crisis units.
- Almost half (48%) of deliverables in the pipeline and 86% in the concept phase are going to be affordable homes, affordable rentals or affordable residential lots, rather than social housing and supported accommodation.
- There are 2,866 affordable home purchases in the pipeline, making up 29% of the 10,000 target.
Figure 2.4: According to Homes Tasmania’s Strategy, the composition of social and affordable homes in Tasmania will change significantly from their 2020 baseline figures to their final figures in 2032. The proportion of social housing and supported accommodation will decrease from 89% to 67% and the proportion of affordable housing will increase from 8% to 32%.
NB: Our calculations for Figure 2.4 don’t take into account any homes which may be lost between 2020 and 2032 (e.g. due to severe damage or environmental disasters).
This infographic (above) shows that Homes Tasmania has made progress towards achieving its 10,000 target — but not all of what they have delivered is actually a home. As well, many of the deliverables are re-purposed homes rather than new homes — and therefore do not contribute to overall housing supply.
Noting that, in March 2025, the completed total includes:
- 411 residential land lots (without a dwelling on them).
- 882 affordable rentals for existing homes rather than new builds.
- 545 affordable home purchases for existing homes rather than new builds.
- It is not clear how many of the social housing and supported accommodation delivered are existing homes that have been repurposed, rather than new homes.
So, while Homes Tasmania has delivered a mix of 4,345 homes, residential land lots and crisis units — the actual number of homes and crisis units they have delivered is 3,934 and the number of new homes and crisis units is, at most, 2,507.
The actual figure for new homes may be even lower if any of the social housing homes counted towards the targets are re-purposed homes rather than new builds.
Coming soon: TasCOSS will explore this further with Homes Tasmania and we’ll share our findings here.
In 2020, the Tasmanian Government committed to delivering 10,000 social and affordable ‘homes’ by 2032, including a commitment to deliver 2,000 social ‘homes’ between 2023 and 2027. Although Homes Tasmania is making progress delivering on these targets, unfortunately the impact on the housing crisis has been minimal.
This is evident in the growing numbers on the social housing waitlist; growing demand for homelessness services; and community organisations reporting worsening difficulties accessing safe, appropriate and affordable housing for their clients, which is intensifying their experiences of family violence, poverty and disadvantage.
Anglicare Tasmania delivers the Housing Connect Front Door service to Tasmanians seeking housing support. In 2024, Anglicare’s Social Action and Research Centre released service data demonstrating the need for more social housing beyond what’s already committed. Their research highlights that there is insufficient affordable housing available to meet the needs of over two thirds (69%) of clients seeking long-term, safe and affordable housing in this state. See: More houses needed: Housing Connect Front Door Service Snapshot, Anglicare Tasmania, October 2024
Is the modelling by Homes Tasmania, which presumably informed the housing targets, still reflective of need, noting the social and economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and inflationary pressures? In the midst of a housing affordability crisis in Tasmania which has worsened since the two targets were set, they are unlikely to meet the current need for housing in this state.
There has been confusion expressed about what exactly the Tasmanian Government has committed to deliver. As we’ve highlighted (above), what has been delivered so far towards the 10,000 target is not always a home (e.g. residential land); and it’s not always a new home (e.g. an affordable rental or an affordable purchase of a pre-existing home). While it’s not unreasonable for Homes Tasmania to transition pre-existing housing into affordable housing or social housing, this won’t lift the overall supply of housing or boost housing construction activity in Tasmania.
TasCOSS is calling on the Tasmanian Government to:
- Boost their 10,000 and 2,000 targets, in view of the acute housing shortage and very low housing affordability in Tasmania, especially for people on low incomes.
- Double the proportion of social homes and supported accommodation in their overall target, to reduce Homes Tasmania’s heavy reliance on affordable rentals and affordable homes to reach the target.
- Provide more clarity on their plans and funding mechanisms for the 5,014 homes and land lots still in the concept phase, to provide critical information to community housing providers and the housing construction industry.