Housing News Digest
Housing News Digest
The Tenants' Union Housing News Digest compiles our pick of items from all the latest tenancy and housing media, sent once per week, on Thursdays.
Below is the Digest archive from November 2020 onwards. From time to time you will find additional items in the archive that did not make it into the weekly Digest email. Earlier archives are here, where you can also find additional digests by other organisations.
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Archive
Inquest into toddler's septic tank death sparks calls for improved maintenance in remote NT public housing
Elsie Lange ABC (No paywall)"Devastated." That's how Aboriginal Housing Northern Territory chief executive Leeanne Caton said she felt when she read the NT coroner's finding that the death of a toddler who fell into a remote public housing septic tank could have been prevented by sufficient maintenance. Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the last name of an Indigenous person who has died, used in accordance with the wishes of his family. "None of this would happen in an urban environment," Ms Caton said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12-10/septic-tank-death-kumanja…
# Australia, Aboriginal renters, Disasters.Households now need six-figure income to comfortably rent in any capital city
Stephen Clarke ABC (No paywall)Renters need to be earning a six-figure income to be able to comfortably rent a house in any of Australia's capital cities, according to new analysis by Domain. It represents a more than 50 per cent increase since 2019, with households now needing to bring in at least $112,667 to rent a median-priced capital-city house without entering rental stress. Households spending more than 30 per cent of their pre-tax income on rent are in 'rental stress', according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12-11/qld-rental-prices-data-si…
# Australia, Rent.Fixing the housing crisis isn’t complicated, governments just don’t want to do it
Richard Denniss The Point (No paywall)The easiest way to boost the supply of housing in Australia would be for governments to build new houses. And the easiest way to provide affordable rental accommodation would be to rent the new government-built houses to people at affordable rents. Fixing a housing crisis is not complicated. But instead of our state and federal governments building more housing, they now build a lot less than they used to. Indeed, our governments are so bad at supplying housing, and our expectations of them are now so low, that most people and most media simply forget to blame governments for failing so badly.
https://thepoint.com.au/opinions/251211-fixing-the-housing-crisi…
# Hot topic Australia, .Queensland family living in a tent in Bundaberg say they're not considered homeless
Johanna Marie ABC (No paywall)A regional Queensland family leasing a powered tent site at a caravan park has been told it is no longer considered homeless and not eligible for crisis accommodation. Simone and Steve Owen moved to Bundaberg, about 400 kilometres north of Brisbane, with their two children earlier this year after the lease on the property they rented at Townsville for seven years was not renewed. Despite applying for "about 100 properties" since January, the couple was unable to secure a home in the town and couch surfed with family and friends until moving to the tent site one month ago.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12-10/queensland-tent-family-no…
# Australia, Land lease communities.Landlords eligible for $3,500 rebates for putting rooftop solar on rentals under Queensland scheme
Alex Brewster ABC (No paywall)A solar rebate program estimated to shave hundreds of dollars annually off renters' power bills is set to be rolled out by the Queensland government. The $26 million "supercharged solar for renters" scheme will provide rebates of up to $3,500 to eligible landlords who install rooftop solar on their rental properties. The pre-election commitment from the LNP is estimated by the government to save 6,500 households around $700 on energy bills, with applications opening on Friday morning.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12-12/queensland-landlord-rente…
# Australia, Rent, Utilities water energy internet.Housing crisis forcing majority of Australians to choose between rent and survival
Samantha Healy realestate.com.au (No paywall)An alarming 60 per cent of Aussies are experiencing housing stress or insecurity, with a staggering amount of homeowners and renters forgoing heating or cooling, meals, even doctors appointments, just to keep a roof over their heads. The latest Everybody’s Home report ‘Breaking Point’ surveyed over 1100 Aussies ahead of the festive season, and it revealed the “drastic” measures many were taking to stay on top of housing costs alone. “Housing costs in Australia are so high that people are making drastic trade-offs to cling onto keeping a roof over their heads – from reducing energy use and driving, to skipping meals and delaying doctor appointments,” Everybody’s Home spokeswoman Maiy Azize said.
https://www.realestate.com.au/news/housing-crisis-forcing-majori…
# Hot topic Australia, .Techno Park residents win zoning battle to remain in Williamstown affordable housing estate
Jesse Thompson ABC (No paywall)Residents of an affordable housing estate in Melbourne's industrial west have won the legal right to remain in their homes, years after they were first threatened with eviction because of a zoning issue. The tenants live in a former migrant hostel known as Techno Park, which sits in the shadow of a row of decommissioned Mobil fuel storage tanks in Williamstown. Having moved in under the impression the homes were lawful, many were blindsided when their local council ordered them to immediately leave in May 2023, claiming it had become aware people were living in the industrial-zoned area.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12-10/techno-park-affordable-ho…
# Australia, Eviction, Rent.Young couple earning six-figures ditch Sydney’s soaring housing market for van life
Hannah Wilcox news.com.au (No paywall)A young Aussie couple has swapped for sale signs for the streets, fleeing Sydney and its housing crisis in hopes of a more financially free life. Sam Savage, a stonemason, and his partner Jess Jacobs, a personal trainer, were priced out of the city, unable to compete with soaring rents and home prices. Instead, they decided to follow their dream of travelling together in a home on wheels – a $20,000 campervan, built by the couple over two years.
https://www.news.com.au/finance/money/investing/young-couple-ear…
# NSW, Rent.