Sarah Williams knows the reality of trying to find an affordable place to live when you're in crisis.
As a domestic violence survivor, she spent four months staying on friends’ couches, trying to find a landlord who would give her a go.
“I felt sick every single day, just not knowing where I was going to live or if I was going to even survive,” the 24-year-old Awabakal woman recalled.
"It makes you realise that having a house is actually such a privilege ... because it's hell, not having one."
When Sarah finally found herself a home, she could only afford rent thanks to a subsidy from the NSW Rent Choice Youth scheme.
“It genuinely saved my life,” she said.
“I was only on Centrelink and the money I was making from work was not enough to pay $400-$600 a week rent by myself.”
A new report has found one in eight Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander households are either struggling with rental costs, live in severely overcrowded properties or are homeless.
This "unmet core housing need" for First Nations people was nearly double the rate of all Australian households.
The report by the independent Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) found more than 80 per cent of low-income First Nations households with unmet housing needs were struggling with unaffordable rents.
Based on analysis of the 2021 census data, rental stress was the greatest challenge in New South Wales and Queensland, while overcrowding was the biggest issue in remote Australia.
It also found the squeeze on social housing has pushed more low-income Indigenous people into the private rental market.
"First Nations householders face significant barriers in the private rental market related to race-based discrimination, affordability and inappropriate housing options for larger families," University of Adelaide's Associate Professor Megan Moskos and the lead author said.
Over the 20 years to 2021, the proportion of Indigenous households renting has increased from just over 16 per cent to nearly 28 per cent.
About one-quarter of First Nations households rely on social housing, compared with 4 per cent of the non-Indigenous population.
And if nothing changes, the report projects First Nations people will need 72,000 more social housing units to meet current and future demand in the next 20 years.
Closing the housing gap
First Nations housing advocates warn housing is essential to living healthy, happy lives.
Ngarrindjeri woman Sue D’Amico, who coordinates the private rental assistance program at Aboriginal Housing Victoria, said stable and affordable housing is "the first stepping stone ... to seek a secure and better life".
"It allows their kids to go to school, for them to be able to get a job, to get employment in the area, to bond with the community," she said.
"We know that housing is the core of every family and every household, and in all walks of life," Zachariah Matysek, acting CEO of the peak body for Aboriginal community-controlled housing, NATSIHA said.
"Without a safe and secure home, you're not going to have the right health benefits of a healthy home, you're going to have issues with child safety, you're going to have issues across the justice system."
The Meriam man, who is also a fellow at the University of Adelaide and helped advise on AHURI's report, says these issues will only "continue to grow" without a change of plan.
"We're going to continue to see extreme cases of neglect and other issues that exist and continue to show up in the media without the proper focus, resources and change that we need to really fix this problem."
Federal, state and territory governments have committed to increasing the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in appropriately sized housing to 88 per cent.
But the target is not on track to be met by its deadline in six years' time.
The AHURI research found 14 per cent of the households with 'unmet need' live in severely overcrowded homes, mostly in the Northern Territory.
Calls to coordinate the housing response
Housing is funded at a state and national level. Federally, responsibility is shared between multiple agencies — including DSS, NIAA, Housing Australia, Indigenous Business Australia and Treasury — and the report authors argue a more strategic and coordinated approach is needed.
"I think this has meant a really fragmented and disjointed approach when it comes to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander housing, which often results in a lack of accountability," Associate Professor Moskos said.
Researchers acknowledged that Australian and state and territory governments have "upscaled" investments in social and affordable housing.
But the report said it was "too early to say how effective" they will be "in overcoming Indigenous housing disadvantage".
In a statement, the federal government's National Indigenous Australians Agency pointed to last year's $9.3 billion national agreement on social housing and homelessness, which identifies First Nations people as a "priority homelessness cohort".
It also pointed to the $10 billion federal fund that aims to build 30,000 new social and affordable homes for all Australians, and the $4 billion, ten-year plan to deliver homes in the NT's remote communities.
"Access to suitable, appropriate and affordable housing is fundamental to improving the lives of First Nations people and Closing the Gap," Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy said in a statement.
The work done by researchers from UNSW, University of Adelaide, University of Sydney and University of Tasmania will continue this year, culminating in a national strategic framework to guide future Indigenous housing.
Some states and territories have dedicated Indigenous housing strategies but they "vary in their scope and adequacy".
The report is calling for a legislated national body to oversee the framework, which would cover homelessness, social housing, the private rental market and home ownership.
With the election looming, housing is likely to be a key issue for voters.
But Assoc Prof. Moskos warns the "short-term political cycle" remains "a key risk factor" when it comes to getting things done.
"I think the incoming government needs a long-term national Indigenous housing plan developed with Indigenous people," she said.
The researchers point to the importance of better resourcing for Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations to deliver culturally-appropriate housing.
The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Housing Association has been calling for a clear plan and targeted funding for years.
"We haven't had the adequate funding, resources and ownership of our affairs to actually address this problem," Zachariah Matysek explained.
"There is a lot of investment in housing at the moment, across all governments in the country [but] the mechanisms and structures that exist isn't allowing for that funding to be reaching where it needs to be going."
