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New ���������research exposes the housing disadvantage people with disability experience, the greatest barriers locking them out of good housing, and the steps that could improve outcomes for this cohort.

��������� lead Monica Cuskelly said the housing crisis hit people with disability harder than most.

“While 44% of lower-income Australians face housing stress, that rises to 61% for people on the Disability Support Pension (DSP), and only 0.1% of private rentals are affordable for DSP recipients,” the University of Tasmania Professor said.

���������ers combined expert panels, interviews and surveys of people with disability, their families and support providers to identify what they regarded as good housing outcomes and barriers to these desired outcomes.

Key barriers included affordability (to buy and rent), accessibility issues in and around the home, insufficient funding for modifications and assistive technology, rental market discrimination, limitations in paid support, and the limited scope of Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) provided through the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

Among the disability community, researchers identified people with intellectual or cognitive disability, older people, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, and people experiencing overlapping forms of disadvantage or discrimination as being at greatest risk of poor housing.
 

The schemes falling short

The Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) was criticised for omitting the obligation to provide appropriate housing for people with disability. ���������ers determined the HAFF should include people with disability as a named priority group, which would reduce the risk of this cohort being overlooked in social housing provision.

National Construction Code (NCC) changes were praised for adoption of the Liveable Housing Design Standard; however, the opt-in approach had allowed patchy state and territory uptake. ���������ers found policymakers should reengage with the NCC to boost accessible housing supply, and future reviews could incorporate Universal Design principles.

Housing policy for people with disability generally was also found to be complex and multi-jurisdictional, forcing people to navigate multiple systems, including disability support, social services, family support and health, to get their needs met.
 

Addressing the supply and demand disparity

���������ers also identified a housing supply-demand mismatch, driven by a lack of design innovation, reliance on the private market for the procurement of disability housing, and a shortage of appropriate social housing.

Lack of data, including on the housing circumstances of people with disability, was impeding good decision-making and contributing to the supply-demand mismatch.

���������ers found the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) did collect useful data, but it was not always shared externally.

“We need more strategic oversight of disability housing procurement, to ensure the right homes are built in the right places. Releasing NDIA data to researchers and policymakers could help fix the data gaps limiting effective change,” Professor Cuskelly said.

Housing providers pointed to the NDIA as a potential 'data steward' for forecasting future housing pipelines, and a facilitator for matching people to available housing.
 

Policy steps to improve disability housing

The research identified four components that enabled good outcomes:

• choice and control
• inclusive and accessible community
• safety in and outside the home
• stability and security.

Because many people with disability relied on the private rental market, including accessibility features in rental advertisements would assist the group in finding appropriate properties.

New models such as build-to-rent, tailored home loans and preferential eligibility criteria for first homebuyers with disability could increase housing opportunities in the private sector.

A robust NDIS reform program was also recommended, and study contributors suggested simplifying NDIS processes and expanding eligibility for SDA funding.

���������ers also found more investment was needed in social housing that met the diverse needs of people with disability. Co-design processes involving people with disability, their families, service providers, and other stakeholders should guide reform.

“To meet Australia’s Disability Strategy (2021–2031) ambition to build a more inclusive nation, we need to take stock of housing for people with disability and examine how to move towards a more mature housing system for this population,” Professor Cuskelly said.

The research was undertaken for ���������by researchers from the University of Tasmania, Adelaide University, and Monash University.