The Australian Institute of Architects has issued a statement in which it describes housing as a “basic human right,” urging federal politicians to address the national affordable housing supply ahead of the federal election on 21 May.
The Institute said housing should be supported by a generational plan for affordable and social housing that will provide a national housing policy for 30 years. Institute president Tony Giannone said all parties should appoint a cabinet-level Minister for Housing to regulate and centralize supply.
“Adequate housing should be a right in a country as lucky as Australia, but it’s not,” Giannone said. “We need a national, centralized system to monitor housing supply and establish targets for social and affordable housing for those who need it.”
In its federal election policy statement, A Time For Action, the Institute identifies housing affordability as one of the two most critical issues facing the country at the present time.
“It is estimated that one in five First Nations households living in dwellings that do not meet an acceptable standard, and one in 28 are homeless,” the peak body for architects states in its call-to-action.
According to a survey carried out by the Institute, almost 9 in 10 of its members said the government needed to do more to address Australia’s rising housing stress.
“Despite this, the Institute believe neither of the two major political parties has committed to a plan to increase significantly the availability of social housing during the campaign,” the Institute said in a statement.
While the Australian Labor Party’s Housing Supply and Affordability Council is “headed in the right direction,” according to the Institute, more needs to be done to guarantee supply, quality and affordability on a national level.
The Institute said it approved of the Greens’ “ambitious” policy, targeting one million affordable public and community houses over the next 20 years, but voters still need to be convinced in its implementation plan.
Designing national minimum standards could help to promote planning code changes and regulate acceptable living conditions on a policy level, the Institute suggests.
“A decades-long, funded strategy will help to overcome the challenges of housing stress and unaffordability, and ultimately make Australia a better society where everyone has a home,” Giannone added.
