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Front cover image of research Housing Policy in Australia with permission to use granted from the publisher Springer Nature .
Examining pandemic housing measures to better understand Australia ’ s rental and house price affordability crisis
The problem
Access to good quality , affordable housing is integral to wellbeing . Australian housing affordability has markedly declined since the 1980s . The young adult home ownership rate fell to 44 % in 2021 , down from 61 % in 1981 . Meanwhile , rising homelessness continues to outpace population growth . The pandemic presented new challenges and opportunities to review our housing affordability crisis .
Our solution
Engaging NGOs , government and other stakeholders , and affected communities in research is vital to understanding Australia ’ s increasingly stressed housing system , says Professor Hal Pawson , Associate Director of the UNSW City Futures Research Centre ( CFRC ). Alongside primary research and secondary data analysis , cross-sector collaboration helps inform and promote evidence-driven policy recommendations .
Hal Pawson researches homelessness and housing needs , the operation of housing markets and housing policy interventions in Australia and comparator countries . He partners with NGOs and Australian and international colleagues to investigate equity issues in housing and contribute to public policy debates .