A new report revealed doubled number of households in community housing between 2007-08 and 2016-17. 

According to Housing assistance in Australia 2018 report released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), the number of households in community housing has more than doubled – rising by 117 percent – since 2007-08. 

However, public housing continued to be the most commonly used form of social housing, providing services to almost 80 percent of households in social housing. 

“In 2007–08, there were around 35,000 households in community housing, but this had risen to 76,000 in 2016–17,” AIHW spokesperson Matthew James said.

The report also reveals that the most commonly provided form of government support is Commonwealth Rent Assistance. This was provided to 1.34 million individuals or couples at June 2017. 

Moreover, the report shows that community housing generally has lower rates of underuse than other social housing programs – around 7 percent of community housing households were considered to be in underutilised dwellings, compared to 17 percent of public rental dwellings and 26 percent of SOMIH dwellings. 

“SOMIH dwellings were also the most likely to be overcrowded, with 24% considered to be too small for the household living in it. Comparatively, 4% of both community household and public housing households were considered overcrowded,” Mr James said.

Further, the AIHW report shows the decline in home ownership, with the most notable fall among young people.