Rental affordability in Australia is as bad as it has ever been, according to new Anglicare Australia report   
ABC News
April 23 2025


In short: The 2024 Anglicare Australia Rental Affordability Snapshot has recorded its lowest ever amount of affordable rentals across the country.
Its annual report, released today, shows the number of affordable rentals available for different Australian households on low incomes.

The report has found housing availability has not recovered since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic – with average rents $200 a week higher than pre-pandemic levels.
There is not a single property across Australia – or even a room in a shared house – that's affordable for someone on youth allowance, according to a new report from support organisation Anglicare Australia.

And just three properties Australia wide were deemed affordable for those on a JobSeeker allowance.   

The affordability snapshot found rental affordability is the worst it has ever been, with Anglicare describing its findings as "nothing short of horrifying".

"For those fortunate enough to find a home, they will be forced to choose between putting food on the table and staying warm this winter or keeping a roof over their head," the report said.

Declining availability
The snapshot report released today tested 45,115 rental listings in March across the country to find what is affordable for low income earners.

It compared the properties with various household types and found affordability "is the worst it's ever been", with average rents $200 per week higher than pre-pandemic levels.

A property was considered affordable if it required less than 30 per cent of a household's income (and had an adequate number of bedrooms), as paying more than that puts renters in housing stress.

Extreme conditions for renters described as 'needle in a haystack type stuff' as housing crisis deepens
There is further evidence Australia's ongoing housing crisis is deepening as the national vacancy rate hits a record low of 0.7 per cent, according to Domain.


Read more
Its data revealed just 13.4 per cent of rental listings across the country are affordable for a family of four with both parents on a full-time minimum wage and only 1.8 per cent are affordable for a single parent on a full-time minimum wage.

For a single person out of work and on the JobSeeker payment, the only affordable properties were two rooms in a shared house, or a single unit in rural New South Wales.

In WA, not a single property for someone on JobSeeker or youth allowance would be affordable. 

Anglicare Australia executive director Kasy Chambers said the vacancy rate for rentals is adding pressure to a stretched market.

"Every year we say it's getting worse and it's hard to imagine how much worse it can get," she said.   

"But this year, there's just about zilch that's affordable."


Kasy Chambers says housing stress is beginning to affect people earning well above minimum wage.
She said the average dual income household on minimum wage would have previously found about a third of properties affordable, but that's drastically changed.

"We can really see that the unaffordability that used to affect people on the very lowest of incomes is climbing the income level," she said.

'It can happen to anyone'
For some, the issue of Australia's housing crisis is closer to home.

Caitlin* was working in the homelessness sector last year in Perth when she almost became homeless herself due to steep rental increases.


Caitlin says she never thought she'd be in this situation.
The 33-year-old was living in a dual-income household in Perth's inner east, caring for her 15-year-old child who has severe autism, when things started to snowball.

From October last year, Caitlin and her partner started to fall behind on rent and were facing eviction notices.

"I work in a position where I'm supposed to be helping people and now I'm someone who reached out for that help – I had a lot of shame around that," she said.


Caitlin says she's beyond grateful for the government's relief scheme.
Come December, she was about to be forced onto the streets when a state government scheme saved her.

Caitlin accessed the WA government's rent relief program, which allows tenants in private rentals to access a one-off support payment of up to $5,000 to cover rental arrears.

The scheme was able to pay off a backlog of rent owed and enabled her to "get back on her feet".


Caitlin says she's still scared about future rent rises and how she'll afford them.
"This [housing stress] is not discriminating, it's affecting such a wide cross section of people," she said.

"Without a program like this, at best we would have had to split up as a family and live in share houses, at worst, I can't even think about it."

whiteknight wrote on Apr 23^rd, 2024 at 7:13am:


Hi Sir Crook,
it's caused by mass immigration from the insane Labor Govt.




https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/money/article-13317021/Australia-100000-immigra...







 

The landmark total is eight times the number of new homes approved and is set to further fuel the worsening housing crisis.

February's net intake of permanent and long-term arrivals was 105,460 - almost double January's 55,330 level, new Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed.

This occurred as a large number of international students moved to Australia for the first semester of the university year.

Australia's capital cities also have rental vacancy rates under one per cent as construction activity fails to keep pace with booming population growth.


The 12,520 houses, apartments and government units approved in February was only one-eighth the monthly net immigration arrival figure, with capital city rents surging by double-digit percentage figures during the past year.


Institute of Public Affairs deputy executive director Daniel Wild said this was a recipe for a housing crisis

'Australia's migration intake remains out of control, with promises to "normalise" arrivals in tatters,' he said.



Treasury's Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook forecast Australia's annual net overseas migration figure would moderate to 375,000 in the 2023-24 financial year.

But that is hardly happening, with 498,270 net arrivals in the year to February, covering permanent skilled migrants and long-term arrivals like international students.

A record 548,800 migrants arrived in the year to September, with the foreign influx making up 83.2 per cent of Australia's population increase.

Immigration ( at least labor’s crazy unsubstantial way) is partly to blame.
Lack of new homes being built, three year approved process by councils .
Cost overruns and builders going broke are others.

Another interesting question is that it has never cost as much as it does now to buy or build a new home nor have they ever been so poorly built and filled with defects. How is that possible?

Interesting, thank you. We are totally screwed looking at the clock!

I’m concerned about the nsw state government review into caravans. This “ may” result in people being unable to live on their own land in one without paying council ( 30k for approval has been mentioned).

The tiny house movement is a untapped solution to the housing crisis, not everyone wants a McMansion but again council and state governments have done nothing to enable them.

Our politicians lack any vision for the future?

I have always felt confused when travelling in Europe how countries that were completely destroyed by war are far superior to Australia in every way.

Why is it so backwards here?

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We are.

BTW, you can buy entire towns here for less the price of an inner city apartment.

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There are a whole lot of people who work in the CBD but cannot afford to live there. At least, not in the style they are accustomed to.

You do not have to live in one of the east coast capitals. Even if that is where you currently work.