During Homelessness Week 2024, our Advocacy team at YWCA Australia made a submission for the introduction of new legislation which recognises housing as a human right in Australia.
In June 2024, ACT Independent Senator David Pocock and Member for North Sydney, Kylea Tink introduced the National Housing and Homelessness Plan Bill 2024 to Parliament. If passed, the legislation would achieve major reform for national housing policy in Australia. The proposed legislation provides a framework for a 10-year National Housing and Homelessness Plan which would give effect to Australia’s international human rights obligations to ensure access to adequate housing. The legislation also seeks to introduce new measures to keep national housing policy accountable to the Australian public.
YWCA has both expressed our overarching support for the legislation and advocated for the Bill to be amended to better respond to the gendered drivers of the housing crisis. These drivers must be addressed when domestic and family violence is the main reason that women and children experience homelessness in Australia.
YWCA has advocated for the legislation to be passed with commitments to:
- Ensure that the human right to housing is equally enjoyed and guaranteed for women and gender diverse people.
- Improve gender equality in housing outcomes.
- More robustly centre the voices of young women and gender diverse people for the development and ongoing assessment of the effectiveness of national housing policy.
It is our priority at YWCA to work with government towards the development of national housing policy which recognises housing as a human right to achieve a future where gender equality is a reality. We have a once in a generation opportunity to meet the size and scale of the challenge Australia faces. If we get it right, we can end housing insecurity and homelessness for women and gender diverse people in our lifetimes, thereby creating a more gender equal housing future.
If you’re interested in joining our advocacy work at YWCA, and having your voices heard on national policy, join our Digital Activist Community today.
