Notes on the data: Housing, and rent assistance

Aboriginal income units in dwellings receiving rent assistance from the Australian Government, June 2023

Policy context: Affordable, secure and safe housing is fundamental to one's health and wellbeing, employment, education and other life opportunities. Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA) is a subsidy paid to people in receipt of an eligible Department of Human Services (Centrelink) payment who are paying rent in the private market (including non-government organisations such as community housing providers).

Indigenous-specific financial assistance programs include CRA, private rent assistance (PRA) and home purchase assistance (HPA). As at the end of June 2022, 89,500 CRA recipients reported having an Indigenous member; this was almost three (2.9) times the figure in June 2009, of 37,200 units [1]. For Indigenous income units, around 2 in 5 (37%) were in rental stress with CRA [2].

References

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Indigenous Housing. Available from: https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-welfare/indigenous-housing; [cited: 2024, Mar 8]
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Housing Assistance in Australia. Web report [cited: 20224, Mar 8]. Available from: https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/housing-assistance/housing-assistance-in-australia/contents/financial-assistance

Notes: The denominator chosen to calculate the percentage of income units (approximately equivalent to households) receiving CRA is the number of dwellings at the most recent Census of Population and Housing. The rent assistance data are based on income units with an Indigenous identifier receiving CRA. An income unit comprises a single person (with or without dependent children) or a couple (with or without dependent children). Single social security recipients living together in the same household are regarded as separate income units. An income unit is classified as Indigenous if at least one adult partner in the unit has indicated to Centrelink that he/she identifies as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. It is optional for individuals to identify as Indigenous. These data may therefore represent an undercount. In addition, in a small number of instances, recipients may live in non-private dwellings, which are not included in the denominator: to the extent that this occurs, the proportion will be overstated. Note: The denominator - private dwellings - is from the 2021 Census as private dwellings data are not available other than in Census years.

Data cells with counts of less than 5 were suppressed (confidentialised).

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

Numerator: Aboriginal income units receiving assistance from the Department of Human Services (Centrelink) at June 2023

Denominator: Total private dwellings with Aboriginal households (2021 Census: 2021 as dwellings data not available other than for Census years)

Detail of analysis: Per cent

Source: Compiled by PHIDU based on data from the Department of Social Services, June 2023; and ABS Census: Dwellings, 2021.