Shelter Tas is pleased to accept the Treasurer’s invitation to make a submission to the 2019-20 State Budget on behalf of our members and the housing and homelessness sector. This submission is informed by research and extensive consultation with our members across the social housing and homelessness sector.
Housing is essential social and economic infrastructure. It is the bedrock for people’s wellbeing, participation in work and community activities, and underpins the care of dependent children. No Tasmanian deserves to live in housing stress, poverty or homelessness.
Affordable, appropriate and secure housing directly impacts our community’s health, education and overall wellbeing. It underpins the growth of our economy by enabling people’s participation and productivity. However, increasing numbers of Tasmanian households are experiencing rental stress due to the combination of high rents and the lowest incomes in Australia. Incomes in Tasmania are 25% (over $300) less than the national average. The latest Rental Affordability Index, which compares rents to incomes, again confirms Hobart as the least affordable capital city in Australia. In Greater Hobart, rents are now becoming unaffordable for half of all rental households. Read the full submission here…