YWCA Australia is very concerned that the 2022 Federal Budget has failed to invest in affordable housing and provide genuine relief for the cost-of-living pressures women and gender diverse people on low incomes face.
Michelle Phillips, CEO YWCA Australia said:
“Housing is the biggest cost of living and this is a missed opportunity to provide genuine permanent relief for Australian women and young people struggling to keep a roof over their head.”
While there’s some assistance for first homeowners, it does not provide meaningful solutions to our housing affordability crisis and fails to meet the needs of those struggling to pay their rent.”
“We’re extremely concerned there’s no new funding for social and public housing and worse still, there’s a decrease in funding under the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement. Every day I see the critical need for increased investment in social housing so we can ensure women experiencing housing insecurity and homelessness have somewhere to go.”
“Domestic and family violence is the number one reason women seek the assistance of services like YWCA, and we are pleased that the $5,000 Escaping Violence Payment will continue as it provides vital assistance to women and their families trying to create a future free from violence. However, we desperately need 16,800 more housing units to ensure these women have somewhere to go and the budget fails to address this.”
“We needed a budget that would ensure women and gender diverse people on low incomes are able to meet their basic needs, especially the cost of housing, into the future, and instead we’re seeing band-aid solutions.”
