Shelter and housing
Access to adequate shelter and housing is recognised as a basic human need. As well as providing protection from environmental elements and access to facilities such as heating and sanitation, housing gives people a place to enjoy privacy and recreational activities, keep their possessions, spend time with friends and family, and express their identity (ABS 2001a). Housing equity is also a major component of personal wealth.
Shelter and housing are used to describe the housing circumstances of Australians and can be further devidied into three sub dimensions.
- Housing tenure relates to the issues of security and stability; home ownership also gives autonomy and a form of social insurance to owners.
- Housing affordability affects the broader economic and social wellbeing of individuals and communities.
- Homelessness indicates housing deprivation, but as it is influenced by a wide range of social issues (such as mental health and family breakdown) it also provides a gauge of more general social dysfunction.
Indicators in this framework
- National Affordability Housing Agreement: g-Proportion of Indigenous households living in overcrowded conditions, 2010
Homelessness, Standard 16/02/2011
Indigenous, Standard 11/09/2012 - National Affordability Housing Agreement: 3: Proportion of Australians who are homeless, 2010
Homelessness, Standard 16/02/2011 - National Affordability Housing Agreement: 4: Proportion of people experiencing repeat periods of homelessness, 2010
Homelessness, Standard 16/02/2011