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Renters with disability are part of a broader cohort of people affected by Australia’s housing crisis.
CEO of Disability Advocacy Network Australia, El Gibbs, says housing remains one of the top issues that people with disability deal with every day.
The lack of affordable, accessible and available housing is a crisis for people with disability in every single area
El Gibbs
When it comes to NDIS funding, Australians with disability fall into two categories. These are called Supported Independent Living and Special Disability Accommodation.
Supported Independent Living (SIL) is a type of support that helps people with disabilities live independently in their own homes or shared living arrangements, with 24 hour support as needed. Whereas Special Disability Accommodation (SDA) seeks to provide appropriate accommodation and independence for people living, often with profound disabilities.
Shadow Minister of Housing and Disability, Michael Sukkar, says there are some concerns with the way in which the NDIS’s Special Disability Accommodation has been administered over the last few years.
“There hasn't been the opportunity to actually match participants with an appropriate home,” Mr Sukkar says. “ I think there's clearly some improvements that can be made to ensure that we're getting those vacancy rates up.”
As soaring prices and low vacancy rates have become the norm in Australia’s rental market, the situation is particularly challenging for low-income individuals and families, who struggle to afford increasing rents and are increasingly excluded by a lack of affordable social and public housing options.
Close to one-third of people with disability are renting, and yet rental affordability, especially in the private rental market, can be an issue for people with disability, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
The AIHW states 2 out of 10 people with disability live alone, however, according to Anglicare, only 66 of 45,895 rental properties advertised in Australia in March 2023 were affordable and appropriate for a single person receiving the Disability Support Pension.
This suggests that while many people with disability do rent in the private rental market, they are much less likely to do so than people without disability.
In a statement released by the Disability Advocacy Network Australia, Everybody’s Home spokesperson Maiy Azize called the lack of rentals for people with disability a “growing crisis.”
“It’s already hard enough finding and securing a safe, decent, affordable rental in Australia, let alone one that is accessible and disability-friendly,” Ms Azize says.
As for Liberal Spokesperson for the NDIS Sukkar, he believes the NDIS’s Special Disability Accommodation remains a viable option for improving the housing crisis.
“We still think that SDA…can provide housing options for people, particularly with significant disabilities. Imperfect though it is, I think the fundamentals are there.”