Notes on the data: Housing, and rent assistance

Low income Aboriginal households experiencing housing stress, 2021

Policy context: A family or individual can be considered to be in housing stress if they are in a low-income bracket and pay more than 30% of their income on mortgage repayments or rent.

Housing stress in Australia is increasing, with the cost to purchase or to rent a house or other dwelling rising rapidly. The Australian Bureau of Statistics report that in the two decades, from 1999–00 to 2019–20, housing costs (adjusted for inflation) for major tenure and landlord types have increased by:

50% for home owners without a mortgage.
40% for home owners with a mortgage.
27% for state or territory housing tenants.
50% for private renters.

Costs have continued to rise since 2020.

Reference

Australian Bureau of Statistics. Housing Occupancy and Costs, accessed 22 February 2023. Available from: https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/housing/housing-occupancy-and-costs/latest-release.

Notes: The data comprise Aboriginal households in the bottom 40% of income distribution (those with less than 80% of median equivalised income), spending more than 30% of income on mortgage repayments, as a proportion of mortgaged private dwellings; or spending more than 30% of income on rent, as a proportion of rented private dwellings.

Income is equivalised; equivalised household income per week can be viewed as an indicator of the economic resources available to a standardised household. For a lone person household it is equal to household income. For a household comprising more than one person, it is an indicator of the household income that would be needed by a lone person household to enjoy the same level of economic wellbeing.

Note: The income levels used here have been calculated from the 2021 Census for all Australians, and not specifically for the Indigenous population.

Income varies by State/ Territory: NSW, $902; Vic, $901; Qld, $877; SA, $755; WA, $910; Tas, $736; NT, $1,101; ACT, $1,347.

The data exclude the population in the 6.8% of private dwellings for which mortgage stress data was not calculated (6.4% for rental dwellings) (the proportions excluded were calculated based on the Australian data).

Note: For caveats regarding these data, please refer to the Housing Costs Caveats.

Geography: Data available by Indigenous Area, Primary Health Network, Quintile of socioeconomic outcomes (based on IRSEO) and Remoteness Area

Numerator: Aboriginal households in the bottom 40% of income distribution (those with less than 80% of median equivalised income), spending more than 30% of income on a) mortgage repayments; b) rental payments; or c) mortgage and rent

Denominator: Number of a) mortgaged private dwellings; b) rented private dwellings; or c) mortgaged and rented private dwellings – all with Aboriginal households

Detail of analysis: Per cent

Source: Compiled by PHIDU based on the ABS Census of Population and Housing, August 2021 (unpublished data).