Publications

HAAG supports the intention of the ACT Property Developers Bill, the consultative approach so far, and endorses the submission from CFMEU to this inquiry. As an organisation representing older people, including older renters, older people in retirement villages, residential parks and experiencing other housing challenges, we support measures to ensure older people’s rights are protected and they are empowered to exercise those rights. This Bill provides a vital opportunity to strengthen the protections for owner-occupiers as well as tenants. These protections should also be applicable universally to all types of property developments.

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HAAG welcomes the provision in the Aged Care Bill Exposure Draft that the aged care system offers accessible, culturally appropriate, trauma-aware and healing-informed funded services.

We recommend that protections for diverse population be strengthened, that housing be recognised as a human right, and to fund specialist housing support services through the Care Finder program.

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HAAG calls on the governement to respond to older people's specific needs by expanding the Home at Last service to be a state-wide service, increasing funding for tenancy advice for older people, increasing funding for early intervention and prevention, and funding the delivery of a service to assist older women to access a broader range of housing options including co-operative housing.

We also need to address the housin building  60,000 public and community housing dwellings, Increase overall funding for Housing First responses, increase funding to revitalise the Independent Living Units (ILU) Sector, legislate a definition of ‘affordable housing’ , establish an Ombudsman service to provider free, fair and binding determinations on retirement housing and social housing disputes, and re-establish and fund the role of the Commissioner for Senior Victorians.

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The NSW Ageing on the Edge Forum is a coalition of about 150 organisational supporters and members. The members of the Forum are advocates for change, including older people with lived experience of homelessness, service providers, peak advocacy bodies and private sector organisations, working together to address housing and homelessness related issues of older people.

Ageing on the Edge Coalition endorses the submissions and the recommendations of Shelter NSW and COTA NSW to this consultation paper.

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HAAG welcomes the opportunity to provide input into the Treasury through the pre-budget submission process. This submission is based on our experience delivering housing and related support services to older people, research and lived experiences of older people experiencing housing stress or homelessness in Australia.

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The National Housing and Homelessness plan is an opportunity to inform decision makers about the situation for older people who can't afford rent, and put pressure on them to implement real solutions to the issues we face. HAAG made this comprehensive submission with recommendations covering homelessness, homelessness services, housing costs, home ownership, rental, planning, zoning and development, climate change and housing security.

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HAAG's recommends that the new Act recognise diversity characteristics and the impact of housing and homelessness on Aged Care Service Provision. There should be better collaboration and coordination between governments and departments, and funding for additional, tailored specialist housing support services for older people.

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Our submission to the Federal Inquiry into the worsening rental crisis in Australia recommends to develop a consultative framework and national plan for rental reform, build 26,000 public and community homes per year across the country, fund a range of housing options including affordable housing, regulate short-stay accommodation, increase funding to services that are designed to support older people to navigate the housing system, increase income support payments, ensure social and affordable housing stock to be adaptable to climate change and embed universal housing design principles, implement measures to incrementally remove Capital Gains Tax and Negative Gearing, and incorporate and incentivise Mandatory Inclusionary Zoning.

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This supplementary submission addresses the question on notice in relation to rent freezes and some additional information not covered in our previous submission.

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The Federal Government has released a discussion paper for the 10-year National Housing and Homelessness Plan, to be released in 2024. We have been calling for a national plan for many years, and see this as a good opportunity to achieve change. Submissions don’t have to be lengthy documents - simply describing your experiences and views will make a worthy submission. We’ve also prepared a guide to help write your submission, and respond to the key points for discussion.

Read our submission Guide

HAAG welcomes the opportunity to provide input into the Inquiry into the Rental and Housing Affordability Crisis in Victoria. This submission is based on our experience delivering housing and related support services to older people, research and lived experiences of older people experiencing housing stress or homelessness in Australia. We especially acknowledge the contributions to this submission made by members of HAAG’s advisory groups including Retirement Accommodation Action Group (RAAG), LGBTQIA+ reference group and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) reference group.

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A fixed rental price must be advertised at the time a property is put up for rent. This advertised rate would act as a ceiling. Older people are already struggling to find affordable housing in an extremely competitive housing market. They are unlikely to be able to bid higher on properties on a limited income.

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HAAG welcomes the opportunity to provide input into the National Strategy to Achieve Gender Equality. This submission is based on our experience delivering housing and related support services to older women, research and lived experiences of older women experiencing housing stress or homelessness in Australia. We especially acknowledge the contributions to this submission made by members of HAAG’s advisory groups including National Alliance for Seniors Housing (NASH), Retirement Accommodation Action Group (RAAG), LGBTQIA+ reference group, culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) reference group and NSW Lived Experience Advocacy Group (LEAG).

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HAAG recommends to increase social housing stock, income support, engagement with communities affected by poverty, to address systemic gender inequality, develop a national agenda for older people and a implement a nationally consistent construction code to make housing accessible and adaptable to climate change.

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There is ample evidence to demonstrate that the Aged Care service systems are not adequately meeting the needs of older people, especially those retiring into poverty, or experiencing housing or homelessness issues. Considering this, there is a clear need to ensure the rights of those who are experiencing additional challenges or are likely to experience disadvantage should be core part of a new Inspector-General’s role.

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The draft of proposed amendments to the Retirement Villages Act bill fails to address many concerns raised by and on behalf of residents, in particular around management standards and fairer fees. The bill allows the most exploitative and predatory operators to continue to operate according to ‘churn’ business models where they are incentivised to maintain high turnover rates by systematically pressuring residents to leave once their exit fees reach their maximum value. The bill abandons the concept of a rights-based framework in favour of vague unenforceable ‘principles’. Overall, the bill simply fails to address serious public concerns about exploitative business practices in the retirement village industry, much less the concerns expressed by the many residents who have made submissions to this review.

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The new Federal Government has committed to developing a National Housing and Homelessness Plan with the support and assistance of key stakeholders, including States and Territories, local government, not-for-profit and social organisations, industry bodies, superannuation funds and other experts in housing, finance and urban development. HAAG is  calling for ambitious targets along with genuine consultation of older people with lived experience of housing stress and homelessness.
 

Submissions to the Review of the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement that reflect the actual experiences and words of women who live with housing stress, insecurity and homelessness as part of the Housing Older Womens Movement

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The Ageing on the Edge NSW Forum is calling on the NSW government to:

  1. Fund a specialist older person’s housing information and support service that comprises both an early intervention and crisis response, similar to the HAAG Home at Last model in Victoria.
  2. Lower the priority age for social housing eligibility from 80 years as a matter of urgency.
  3. Build 5,000 social and affordable homes per year for 10 years, at least 20% of which should be dedicated to older people.

PDF icon Read our submission to the parliamentary inquiry here

Australia’s housing system is failing people experiencing disadvantage, particularly older people who are falling through the cracks. The existing policy frameworks are inadequately equipped to support people at risk of homelessness and there is a clear need for national leadership through a National Housing Strategy to develop and deliver sustainable solutions that are properly resourced.

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HAAG and Older Womens Network NSW's input into the Draft National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children 2022-2032. We provide recommendations to adress domestic violence, elder abuse and homelessness amongst older women. This submission is endorsed by Domestic Violence NSW (DVNSW).

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