The Queensland Housing Summit today addressed the need for an urgent fix to combat the increasing housing crisis across the Sunshine State.

Critical issues to be remedied covered unlocking land and housing, fast-tracking social housing development, housing equity and collaboration around housing needs by the government and private sector.

YWCA CEO Michelle Phillips, who attended the summit, said the funding and innovative solutions proposed were on track and were a great first step in resolving what will be a long-term collaborative process to create housing for those facing homelessness – particularly women and their families.

“The summit presented some progressive solutions today that when implemented will positively impact the current housing crisis. It was encouraging to hear that the QLD State Government would release an additional $1 Billion in funding, doubling their current investment, to create a sustainable source of funding to build around 13,000 new affordable homes in Queensland – 5,600 by June 2027.

“This will be a game changer for many women experiencing homelessness, women and children who are trapped in unsafe domestic violence situations and older, displaced Australian women.

“By stretching the funding dollar and by working alongside government and sector partners, YWCA Australia welcomes the opportunity to continue to play a pivotal role in ending homelessness for women.

“There’s a lot that needs to happen, new solutions to be explored. It won’t be a quick fix, but it does map a hopeful road forward for women and their families who have nowhere to live,” she said.

One of the common (and frankly, extremely ignorant) remarks made when talking about domestic violence in Australia is the question – “why don’t they just leave?”

A report from researcher Anne Summers released last week reveals exactly why – that many women escaping a violent relationship are facing the impossible decision between violence and poverty. The report looks at never-before-seen data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ 2016 Personal Safety Study and focuses on the experiences of violence of single mothers, with shocking results.

60 per cent of single mothers had experienced violence in a previous relationship. 75 per cent of these women said their former partner’s assaults, threats, controlling or emotionally harmful behaviour were the main reason the relationship ended. They left because of the violence. But what support awaited them?

Very little. 50 per cent of these single mothers say that income support payments were their primary source of income. Since 2016, wages have stagnated and the cost of living has skyrocketed, yet income support payments have stayed the same. For survivors who rely on these payments how far they can stretch to cover the costs of leaving – bond, rent, furniture, counselling – has actually decreased in real terms. Coupled with the rising cost of housing, where less than 1.6% of private rentals in Australia are affordable for minimum wage earners and basically zero are affordable for people living on income support payments, too many survivors and their families are being robbed of a future free from violence. 

The cost of starting again keeps many women in violent relationships. Of the estimated 275,000 women who experienced domestic and family violence at the hands of their current partner, 30 per cent left but later returned. For 12,000 of these women, they returned simply because they had nowhere else to go.

And of the 70 per cent of women who stayed after experiencing domestic violence, 22,600 said the lack of money and financial support was the main reason they couldn’t leave.

“Why doesn’t she just leave?” they ask. Because she can’t afford to.

More support is needed to help women rebuild their lives once they’ve left a violent relationship – especially when it comes to affordable housing.

Finette, Coordinator of YWCA Australia’s Domestic Violence programs in Southern New South Wales, says these horrific statistics mirror what her team sees each and every day.

YWCA operates three domestic violence programs in Southern NSW, with two specifically supporting women who have experienced domestic violence and have small children.

“One of the biggest misconceptions about domestic and family violence in Australia is that once women are out of the relationship, everything is fine. We know that this simply isn’t true. Leaving isn’t easy, especially with young children.”

She says the current rental crisis – which drove rents up as much as 38% per cent in some suburbs in her region – is the most significant factor preventing women leaving an abusive relationship.

The Summers report emphasises the need for a policy overhaul when it comes to how we support women leaving violent relationships. If we want women and their families to live a life free from violence, we must increase the supply of social and affordable housing, increase income support payments (including the Single Parent Payment and rent assistance) and increase funding for holistic support, that includes case management and housing, like what is offered by YWCA.

Early insights from the 2021 Census data have been released this week, with some shocking results. Over one million dwellings – like holiday homes and investment properties – were unoccupied on Census Night. As we face a housing affordability crisis, are these empty dwellings the answer?

YWCA Australia thinks they’re part of the equation. In 2018, YWCA in partnership with Housing for All Australians and with pro-bono support and corporate donations, repurposed a vacant aged care facility to establish Lakehouse, transitional accommodation for older women in Melbourne who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

At a time when rental vacancy rates are 2.2% in Melbourne, and even lower in other parts of the country, Lakehouse provides a welcome reprieve to many women facing or at risk of homelessness. It is home to nearly 40 women at a time, and since it opened its doors, it has provided 106 women with a safe, secure place to rebuild their lives.

“Lakehouse makes a huge difference to women’s lives by giving them an opportunity to settle, regroup and be supported to secure long-term affordable accommodation.”

Charlotte Dillon, General Manger Housing at YWCA.

Women over 50 are the fastest-growing group of people experiencing housing instability in Australia – often as a result of pay inequity, little to no superannuation or savings, divorce, domestic and family violence and time taken as unpaid carers. With rental property prices soaring, more and more women of all ages are finding themselves reaching out to specialist homelessness services, like YWCA.

Rama turned to YWCA after leaving an abusive marriage, and at Lakehouse, she found the opportunity to rebuild a happier life for herself.

“I got this house last year. I have peace here. This is a home for me and I am very happy. These women are my family. I love to cook for them and to spend time with them.”

Having empty buildings while people are experiencing homelessness does not make sense. While the long-term solution to the housing affordability crisis is building more social and public housing, we know this takes time.

As a short-term solution, vacant dwellings can be repurposed into transitional housing which can be a space where women like Rama can find stability and access the support they need to break the cycle of homelessness.

This week, the Morrison government announced a new and controversial policy, which allows first home buyers to withdraw up to $50,000 from their superannuation to get into the property market.

Morrison told voters they should have the right to use their super funds to buy their first homes and made the policy the centrepiece of a campaign speech that held out the promise of a “better future” if Australians backed him at the election.

YWCA Australia has serious concerns that this policy is negatively geared in relation to women.

The facts – in Australia women retire with 22-35 per cent less super than their male counterparts. This is a result of the gender pay gap, as well as breaks in work because of caring duties. As we begin to see the effects of the COVID-19 Early Release policy on Australian’s super balances, which allowed the withdrawal of up to $20,000 we are expecting to see the gap widen, especially for young women and women on low incomes who may never recover the retirement savings and the interest they would have earned.

Importantly, Australian women live on average 4 years longer than men, and with their lower super balances, they run out of super much earlier.

As a national not-for-profit focusing on young women’s leadership and housing, YWCA recognises that stable housing for women is critical to achieving gender equity. We work to shine a light on the impact of adverse housing and super policies on women, and on the critical need to address Australia’s housing affordability crisis.

Quotes attributable to Charlotte Dillon, General Manager Community Housing at YWCA Australia:

“This new policy further indicates the Morrison Government’s inadequate understanding of the drivers of gender inequity and housing insecurity. This policy will have serious impacts on women’s superannuation earnings – and stability at a later stage in life, increasing their risk of housing insecurity and making it more difficult for women of all ages to leave situations of domestic violence.

“In the short-term this policy could have serious implications for the skyrocketing cost of housing and further exacerbate the affordability crisis that has pushed far too many women into housing stress.

“34% of single Australian women over 60 live in income poverty (compared to 27% of men). This policy will only serve to increase this disparity.”

“If we want to give women stability in their retirement, we need policies that will address the current housing affordability crisis, not just for homeowners but also renters. This includes building more social housing and developing a National Housing Plan with a Homelessness Strategy that addresses the gendered drivers of women’s housing insecurity across their lifetime.”

Owned and managed by YWCA, Richmond House was first opened in 1973 and is still the largest women-only rooming house in Australia. Completed in 2010, it underwent renovations to give the building a facelift, refresh the rooms and future-proof its design to fit in with the trendy Richmond area.  

Richmond House offers 69 single bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms and shared kitchens, lounge and laundry facilities and outdoor community spaces in the inner suburbs of Melbourne. It’s home to low-income workers, older and disabled women, and women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. 45 per cent of our residents have experienced domestic and family violence.  

“I’ve lived at Richmond House for around 20 years now; I feel like I own the place. It gives me the security and the freedom I need. I really like the company and the friendships I’ve made. It’s home.”  

Resident at Richmond House