Federal policies have this week focussed on new builds to help ease the housing crisis, but what about existing housing stock? An RMIT expert explains why it's important for the government to provide more support for retrofit solutions.
Dr Trivess Moore, Associate Professor, School of Property, Construction and Project Management
"We have seen significant discussion by the major parties in this election campaign around how to make housing more affordable and to reduce cost of living, however, this discussion has largely overlooked the urgent need to improve the quality and performance of our existing housing.
"We need to see more support in this election for retrofit - the process of making a house more sustainable - and for this support to go beyond just funding solar panels and residential battery storage for households.
"This is important given the majority of existing housing will still be here when we need to achieve our 2050 decarbonisation goals.
"The good news is that we know how to deliver this type of retrofit - government support programs that provide financial assistance, and tools like the Residential Scorecard that provide recommendations for household improvement, already exist.
"The problem is that not everyone can easily access this support and often renters and low-income households are overlooked or do not have the upfront resources to participate.
"The recent announcement by the Victorian government to fund ceiling insulation retrofit is a good development, but we need more support from all levels of government to support an equitable retrofit revolution."
Dr Trivess Moore's research focuses on the technical, social and policy aspects of how households and the housing sector will transition to a low carbon future. His book, A Transition to Sustainable Housing, explores the need to rethink the way we plan, design, construct, use and retrofit housing.
RMIT's Post-Carbon Research Centre, in collaboration with Sustainable House Day and Renew Australia, will facilitate an expert panel conversation on 1 May, which explores the latest policy debates and research outcomes of retrofit activities for existing homes in Australia and internationally.
The RMIT Post-Carbon Research Centre, established in 2024, is a joint initiative of the University's College of Design and Social Context and STEM College. The Centre tackles the complex challenges of decarbonising the built environment and infrastructures to transition to a sustainable, equitable and resilient future.
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