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.
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