| Download Document | |
| Document Type: | General |
| Primary Author: | Government of Western Australia, Department of Communities |
| Edited By: | Tabassum Rahmani |
| Published By: | Government of Western Australia, Department of Communities |
A home is so much more than a roof over our heads. A safe, stable, sustainable home is key to a good life and fundamental to our wellbeing. Homes are essential infrastructure and provide a foundation for sustainable communities, connecting people to opportunity through social integration and economic participation.
The potential flow-on benefits to other systems – health, education, justice and employment are enormous. Despite significant investment, housing affordability remains an ongoing issue and our homes are not diverse enough to meet our changing needs. The impact is felt across our community, from young people wanting to find their first home, key workers needing to be closer to jobs, older people looking to age with choice and those with specific housing and support needs. For households on low incomes, housing and living costs can create significant stress. The COVID-19 worldwide pandemic of early 2020 dramatically changed the socio-economic landscape of the State and as a result many Western Australians are doing it tough.
Providing social housing requires significant ongoing investment and need continues to outstrip supply. Over the last decade, the WA Government has invested more than $3.6 billion into more than 7,200 social homes, with a land value over $500 million at the time of construction.2 Despite this, social housing stock levels had not significantly increased. This was due to a number of factors, including managing an ageing asset portfolio.