The Albanese government is spending more on tax breaks for property investors than on social housing, homelessness services and rent assistance combined.
The finding comes from analysis released by ACOSS today and as the Productivity Commission releases a separate report showing 42 per cent of people waiting to get into public housing are homeless, or at risk of homelessness. This figure is up from 26 per cent in 2015.
The ACOSS analysis suggests the federal government spent $12.3 billion on housing investor tax breaks in 2025, compared to $9.6 billion on social housing, homelessness services and rent assistance in the same year.
Meanwhile, social housing makes up less than two per cent of dwellings built each year, a drop from 22 per cent in the 1950s and 15 per cent in the 1970s, according to ACOSS.
The Productivity Commission’s Report on Government Services shows around 190,000 households are on the public housing waitlist, while 18.3 per cent of Commonwealth Rent Assistance households are in severe rental stress, paying more than 50 per cent of their income on rent.
The homelessness crisis is also getting worse, with 27.4 per cent of people using homelessness services experiencing persistent homelessness, up from 22 per cent five years ago.
“This report today shows housing stress and homelessness are getting worse while absurdly generous tax breaks drive up home prices and supercharge inequality in our society,” said ACOSS Acting CEO, Jacqueline Phillips.
“More people are struggling to afford the private rental market, pushing them into homelessness and onto growing social housing waitlists. With new social housing accounting for less than two per cent of homes built each year, the situation is set to worsen, not improve.”
ACOSS is calling on the federal government to gradually halve the 50 per cent Capital Gains Tax discount and phase out negative gearing over five years.
The organisation would also like to see national social housing targets and a boost to social housing supply.
How women are impacted by housing insecurity
In Australia, we know that women are disproportionately vulnerable to housing insecurity, as well as domestic violence. These two issues are interlinked, with family and domestic violence the main reason women and children leave their homes in Australia.
Many of these women and children fleeing violence go on to experience housing insecurity, and in some cases homelessness.
The 2016 Census showed that older women were the fastest growing group experiencing homelessness.
A report released last year indicated 20 per cent of family violence survivors are missing out on crisis accommodation in Victoria, due to a lack of housing and resources.
The problem stems from years of underinvestment in social housing and resources.
Meanwhile, sole parenting women made up 88 per cent of families experiencing homelessness in Brisbane.