A new report from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) has shed insight into the disadvantage people with disability experience when it comes to housing, outlining the obstacles that hinder their access to good housing and offering steps that could improve outcomes.
Research lead and University of Tasmania professor Monica Cuskelly said the housing crisis has hit people with disability harder than most.
“While 44 percent of lower-income Australians face housing stress, that rises to 61 percent for people on the Disability Support Pension (DSP), and only 0.1 percent of private rentals are affordable for DSP recipients,” she said.
Cuskelly added, “To meet Australia’s Disability Strategy (2021–2031) ambition to build a more inclusive nation, we need to take stock of housing for people with disability and examine how to move towards a more mature housing system for this population.”
According to a media communique from AHURI, the research was undertaken through expert panels, interviews and surveys of people with disability, their families and support providers, with researchers’ focus being to identify what the participants regarded as good housing outcomes and the barriers to these desired outcomes.
The key barriers identified included housing affordability (both to buy and to rent), accessibility issues in and around the home, insufficient funding for modifications, and limitations in the scope of Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) provided through the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Researchers also identified that people with intellectual or cognitive disability, older people, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, and people experiencing overlapping forms of disadvantage or marginalisation were at greatest risk of poor housing.
Four components were found to enable good outcomes. These included having choice and control in housing type, location and occupants; having an inclusive and accessible community, along with good access to amenities and public transport; having a sense of physical and emotional safety in and outside the home, and having stability and security, including tenure and an ability to age in place.
Researchers also found more investment was needed in social housing that met the diverse needs of people with disability.
“Co-design processes involving people with disability, their families, service providers, and other stakeholders should guide reform,” AHURI has said in their media communique.
The research was undertaken for AHURI by researchers from the University of Tasmania, Adelaide University and Monash University. The report can be accessed on AHURI’s website.
