On 30th April 2012, Ms. Kasy Chambers (executive director) released a report on how affordable it is to rent in Australia. The report, entitled: “Rental Affordability Snapshot” demonstrates how the private market has failed Australians from a low socio economic background.
On a weekend in April 2012, Anglicare agencies undertook research of rental properties that were being advertised. The purpose was to check how affordable these properties were for households solely on receipt of Government benefits and households that relied on the minimum wage.
‘Affordability’ is classed as spending up to 30% of a low household income on rent.
Here are some of the quotes from their media release:
“What the Snapshot shows is that people on the minimum wage need two incomes to rent a house. In many places even that is not enough,” Ms Chambers said.
“And for those trapped on the NewStart, supporting parent or youth allowance there is absolutely nothing suitable available at all.
“In our largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, with over 20,000 properties advertised between them less than 40 properties were considered suitable across all of the household types.
“In our regional areas too, housing for families on a low income is virtually non-existent with results like 2% of available properties in the Southern Tablelands in New South Wales for a single parent on the minimum wage or 6% of properties in Gladstone for a family of four.
“Anglicare’s Snapshot gives an insight into the experience of housing stress, makes it clear how distant safe and secure housing is for hundreds of thousands, even millions, of Australians, and raises the question of why it isn’t a true national priority.