Tuesday 10th June 2025.

We all know there is a housing crisis for young people. Rents have risen and affordable rentals are difficult to find, especially for people on low incomes. The purchase of a house or unit is beyond the dreams of many young people.

What is less well known is that the most rapidly growing group of homeless people are older women. Fewer older people now own their homes and more are relying on renting in the private market, driving those relying on the pension into privation. The waiting list for social housing is now about 10 years.

For those older people who own their home but are finding it difficult to manage, there are few alternatives. Downsizing into cheaper accommodation puts the pension at risk. Retirement villages are mostly on the outskirts of local government areas removing older people from their families and social networks.

Supported accommodation is scarce apart from aged care retirement facilities, the reality of which were described in graphic detail in the Royal Commission. In the subsequent five years, little has changed to make these facilities more attractive to older people.

There has been a commendable interest in the housing crisis from both Commonwealth and State governments. A range of Commonwealth programs are now managed by Housing Australia but little has been achieved with regard to social housing and affordable housing.

Homes NSW is administering the housing program for the NSW Government with its main focus on medium density accommodation around railway stations. This has resulted in some interest from developers in Sydney, but little interest in Newcastle or Lake Macquarie.

If the housing crisis in the Hunter is to be tackled successfully, a comprehensive local plan is required to complement the Commonwealth and State plans. The plan will need to estimate the requirement for immediate accommodation for the homeless, temporary accommodation, social housing, affordable housing and medium density ‘corridor” developments.

It will need to detail other accommodation options, such as dual occupancy. This can take the form of subdivision, granny flats, co-housing or home share. Home share is a program whereby an older people who owns their home and has a spare bedroom can offer this bedroom to a younger person in exchange for company, security and some support. This may allow the older person to remain at home, as an alternative to going into residential care.

The Housing for Older Persons Project (HOPP) of the Hunter Ageing Alliance has been tackling the issue of housing needs of older people in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie for the last four years. HOPP has been instrumental in the refurbishment of a disused aged care facility into temporary accommodation for homeless older women and is working with local government to make dual occupancy an easier process.

HOPP obtained a grant from a generous benefactor to launch Hunter Homeshare, managed by Embrace People and Place. We are now seeking interested Homeowners who have a spare bedroom and would like suitable company. We are also seeking Homeseekers who would like low cost accommodation and are prepared to offer an older person, company and some support. The Hunter Homeshare Coordinator undertakes a comprehensive matching process and then monitors the situation.

Much more is, of course, needed if the housing crisis is to be overcome. We need to find more unused buildings for refurbishment as “meanwhile use” accommodation. We need to find vacant government or Crown land that could be used for all types of accommodation, perhaps expedited by the use of modular construction.

Above all, we need all stakeholders to come together to develop a local plan. The plan would detail all the possible options for more housing, the cost involved, the possible sources of finance, goals and timelines. It would also detail the possible obstacles such as lack of tradespeople and materials, government regulations and NIMBYISM.

With the recent extensive wet weather and the realization that homeless people were exposed to wind and rain, we must increase our commitment to overcome this urgent crisis.