Anglicare Australia has released new research showing that essential workers are being priced out of the rental market across the country. The Rental Affordability Snapshot: Essential Workers Report surveyed more than 51,000 rental listings and tested them against the wages of sixteen essential occupations.
Released as part of Anti-Poverty Week, it found that:
- 1,117 rentals (2.3%) were affordable for an ambulance officer
- 850 rentals (1.7%) were affordable for an aged care worker
- 754 rentals (1.5%) were affordable for a nurse
- 575 rentals (1.1%) were affordable for a construction worker
- 417 rentals (0.8%) were affordable for an early childhood educator
- 417 rentals (0.8%) were affordable for a hospitality worker.
- In most regional areas, less than 5 percent of rentals were affordable for a cleaner.
"It is a national disgrace that the people we all rely on – nurses, teachers, care workers, cleaners – cannot afford a secure place to live," Anglicare Australia Executive Director Kasy Chambers said. "This report shows that even full-time workers in critical jobs are locked out of most rentals. In many parts of the country, affordability has gone backwards. A hospitality worker could not afford a single property in the ACT, only five in the Northern Territory, and just 80 across the whole of Victoria. "These results show that the housing crisis is now hurting the people who hold our communities together. If they cannot afford to live where they work, then schools, hospitals, and aged care homes will struggle to keep running." Ms Chambers said governments cannot keep leaving housing to the private market. "For decades, governments have walked away from providing housing and instead propped up private investors with billions in tax concessions. The result is a system that works for investors, but shuts out everyone else," Ms Chambers said. "The solution is clear. We need tax reform to stop pushing up the cost of housing. We need to build at least 25,000 new public and community homes each year – rentals that essential workers can actually afford. And we need stronger protections for renters, so people are not left at the mercy of an unfair system. "The housing crisis is not an accident. It is the result of choices. These results are shocking, but they are also an opportunity for governments to change course and ensure that everyone has a safe, affordable home."
The report includes state and regional data.
