What is public housing?
Answer
Government-provided affordable housing
Explanation
Public housing in Australia is rental accommodation owned and managed by state and territory governments, provided to low-income households who cannot afford private rental. It sits alongside community housing (run by not-for-profit organisations), specialist disability accommodation funded through the NDIS, and Indigenous housing run by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community housing organisations.
The federal government funds the system jointly with the states under the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement, currently rolling into the National Agreement on Social Housing and Homelessness from 2024. Housing Australia (the successor to the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation since October 2023) administers federal investment programmes including the Housing Australia Future Fund, the Help to Buy shared-equity scheme, and the National Housing Accord goal of 1.2 million new homes by 2029.
Each state operates its own public housing system. New South Wales' system, run by Homes NSW (formed in 2024), holds about 134,000 dwellings. Victoria's system, run by Homes Victoria, holds about 65,000 social housing dwellings. Queensland's system holds about 50,000. Western Australia's system holds about 37,000. Smaller systems run in South Australia, Tasmania, the ACT, and the Northern Territory. Total social housing across Australia includes about 320,000 public housing dwellings and about 110,000 community housing dwellings.
Eligibility is means-tested: applicants must earn under set income thresholds (varying by state and household size) and pass other tests including residency, asset limits, and capacity to maintain a tenancy. Tenants generally pay rent equal to about 25 to 30 per cent of their household income, well below market rates. Waiting lists are substantial: the New South Wales general wait list for public housing has more than 50,000 applicants, with priority applicants typically waiting 2 to 5 years and general applicants 5 to 10 years. Demand has outstripped supply for decades, with the share of Australian housing in the social housing system falling from about 6 per cent in the 1980s to about 4 per cent today.
Why this matters for your test
Public housing is the country's main safety net for low-income renters, and recognising the split between state-run public housing and community housing helps new citizens find their way in if they need it.
Source: Australian Citizenship: Our Common Bond (2024)
