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“Homeless at Home”
Student’s Name
University of Queensland
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“Homeless at Home”
According to the 2016 Australian census, 29% of Indigenous Australians aged five years and
above have been homeless. Housing is a critical social determinant of health and one that has
remained an issue for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The lack of access to proper
housing is one of the causes of poor health and wellbeing among the Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islanders as can be seen with a high prevalence of diseases and premature deaths (SMLAHP,
2016). Past research has identified a relationship between poor physical and mental health and
wellbeing. Homelessness, poor quality, insecure, and overcrowded houses adversely affect the
health and wellbeing of an individual. Across Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders
have major housing problems. NATSIHA states that:
Aboriginal housing circumstances differ from those of non-Aboriginal people and are
characterized by high numbers of households in insecure housing; a high proportion of
renters; a high proportion of households in social housing; low levels of homeownership;
high levels of homelessness; the prevalence of overcrowding; and high mobility
(temporary and forced) neighbourhood effects/living in low socio-economic areas; lowquality housing and housing disrepair; and remoteness (2018, pp. 5).
The access to high quality and secure housing to Indigenous communities in Australia is lower
than that of non-Indigenous communities (Grant et al., 2016). Data from the Australian Bureau
of Statistics’ census confirm this assertion. It is historically known that the rate of homelessness
among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders is higher than that of non-Indigenous Australians
as can be seen in the number that is always seeking homelessness and social housing services in
the country (AIHW, 2019a). Data from the 2016 census indicate a wide disparity between
Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians in terms of housing access and affordability. Non-
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Indigenous Australians are twice as likely to own homes as compared to Indigenous Australians.
Indigenous Australians are ten times likely to live in social housing. Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islanders are three times as likely to live in overcrowded houses. Indigenous Australians have a 9
times likelihood of seeking specialist homelessness Services as compared to the non-Indigenous
(AIHW, 2019a). Although there has been a notable improvement in the access and ownership of
houses among Indigenous Australians, the government is responsible for the great inequality
between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians through historical dispossession,
marginalization, and discrimination against the former group.
Home ownership
There is a considerable disparity in the homeownership between Indigenous and non-Indigenous
Australians. Indigenous Australians account for a small percentage of homeowners in the
country as compared to the non-Indigenous. Statistics from the 2016 census indicate that only
38% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders own homes. Only 12% of these are outright
owners, and the rest 26% is via a mortgage. On the other hand, 66% of non-Indigenous
Australians own homes (AIHW, 2019a). The low ownership rate among the Aboriginal people is
due to political and economic reasons. Politically, the lack of interventions and programs to
enhance the accessibility, affordability, and quality of housing by the Australian government is
one of the reasons behind the housing plight of Indigenous Australians. Being mainly lowincome earners, the Aboriginals are the primary beneficiaries of social housing. However,
despite the aging of the houses in these programs, the government has left them in a poor state.
Other government policies also hinder access to housing by Aboriginals. For instance, with
Aboriginals accounting for a significant proportion of ex-convicts, the planned banning of people
with drug offences from accessing social housing would only exacerbate the problem (Dertadian,
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2018). Indigenous Australians also face racial discrimination from private landlords and
managers of social housing projects, which hinders their access to high-quality and secure
housing (Andersen et al., 2018). Although progress has been made in growing the number of
Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders homeowners, more efforts should be made to enhance the
access and affordability of house ownership for better health outcomes among this particular
group.
Quality of housing
The quality of housing that one lives in significantly influences a person’s health and wellbeing.
It is reported that between 2014 and 2015, 29% of Indigenous Australians lived in houses with
major structural problems. They live in houses whose basic facilities for personal, or laundry
washing were not working correctly or not even available (AIHW, 2019a). These problems pose
a risk of disease, injury, and even death. To address this problem, the government should direct
funds to the repair and improvement of social housing for better health outcomes among
Aboriginals (NATSIHA, 2018). Hence, to enhance the health of Indigenous communities, the
government and private landlords should ensure they make repairs and improvements to ensure
that they rent out high-quality housing.
Overcrowding
Overcrowding is another major housing problem facing Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders.
According to AIHW (2019a), Indigenous Australians are three times likely living in
overcrowded houses as compared to the non-Aboriginal people. 2016 census data also indicates
that 10% of Indigenous Australians were living in overcrowded dwellings. With an exponential
growth in the Australian population that is unmatched by housing supply, a shortage of housing
has emerged. Coupled with poverty among Indigenous communities, the shortage has led to
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overcrowding (Hall et al., 2020). Overcrowding causes a rise in the risk of disease infection, and
which can be attributed to the poor health outcomes among the Indigenous Australians.
Therefore, the Australian government should inject funds to increase the supply of houses I order
to alleviate the problem of overcrowding in households.
Homelessness
Homelessness is a serious problem among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people (Somes,
2017). Indigenous Australians account for 25% of the people seeking Specialist Homelessness
Services (SHS). The disparity in the homelessness problem between Indigenous and nonIndigenous Australians is apparent with data indicating that 29% of Indigenous people over 15
years had ever been homeless. In comparison, only 13% of non-Indigenous people have been
homeless. Homelessness among the Aboriginal people has been a result of insufficient and
insecure housing and their affordability (Lowell et al., 2018). In the efforts to enhance the health
and wellbeing of Indigenous communities, the government should invest in housing to ensure its
availability, accessibility, and affordability.
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References
AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare). (2019a, September 11). Indigenous
housing. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-welfare/indigenous-housing.
AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare). (2019b, March 29). Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander people: A focus report on housing and homelessness. Australian Institute
of Health and Welfare. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/housing-assistance/indigenouspeople-focus-housing-homelessness/contents/summary.
Andersen, M. J., Williamson, A. B., Fernando, P., Wright, D., & Redman, S. (2018). Housing
conditions of urban households with Aboriginal children in NSW Australia: tenure type
matters. BMC public health, 18(1), 70.
Dertadian, K. (2018, April 2). Public housing ban on people with drug records likely to do more
harm than good, research tell us. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/publichousing-ban-on-people-with-drug-records-likely-to-do-more-harm-than-good-researchtell-us-93731.
Grant, E., Zillante, G., Tually, S., Chong, A., Srivastava, A., Lester, L., ... & Beer, A. (2016).
Housing and Indigenous people living with a disability: lived experiences of housing and
community infrastructure. Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, AHURI
Positioning Paper, (168).
Hall, N. L., Redmond, A., Memmott, P., & Barnes, S. (2020, April 14). Fix housing and you'll
reduce risks of coronavirus and other disease in remote Indigenous communities. The
Conversation. https://theconversation.com/fix-housing-and-youll-reduce-risks-ofcoronavirus-and-other-disease-in-remote-indigenous-communities-136049.
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Lowell, A., Maypilama, Ḻ., Fasoli, L., Guyula, Y., Guyula, A., Yunupiŋu, M., ... &
McEldowney, R. (2018). The ‘invisible homeless’–challenges faced by families bringing
up their children in a remote Australian Aboriginal community. BMC public health,
18(1), 1-14.
NATSIHA (National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Housing Authority) (2018).
Submission on Closing the Gap Refresh: Targetig Housing and Homelessness.
SMLAHP (Sydney Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Health Partnership) (2016). Social
Determinants of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Forum: Report and
Recommendations 2016.
Somes, T. (2017, November 23). More and more older Australians will be homeless unless we
act now. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/more-and-more-olderaustralians-will-be-homeless-unless-we-act-now-87685.