Indigenous Housing Need

Abstract

This paper provides an update of the evidence on different aspects of the housing situation of Indigenous Australians. By using a regional approach, it is possible to get a sense of how the housing circumstances of the population vary across our cities, regional and remote areas. Data for the analysis is drawn mainly from the 2006 and 2011 Censuses and the paper examines variation across aspects of housing use and overcrowding, housing tenure, homelessness, and household income and housing costs. One of the main findings from the analysis is that although housing need is greatest in remote areas (with very high rates of overcrowding in some parts of the country) there are still large disparities with the non-Indigenous population in urban regions. Because of the number of Indigenous Australians living in these parts of the country, urban areas cannot be ignored when trying to meet government targets.