Housing Australia Future Fund Bill 2023

Explanatory Memorandum & Statement Of Compatibility With Human Rights & Second Reading Speech

OUTLINE

This Bill gives effect to the Government’s decision to establish the Housing Affordability Future Fund to create a funding source to support and increase social and affordable housing, as well as other acute housing needs. It includes housing improvements for existing properties, housing improvements to meet the growing needs of Indigenous communities and extra housing services for women, children and veterans who are at risk. The HAFF Bill would give effect to the Government’s election commitment to establish the $20 billion HAFF to fund the delivery of an initial 70,000 social and affordable homes and allocate an additional $660 million to acute housing needs over the HAFF’s first five years.

FINANCIAL IMPACT

The initial credit to the HAFF would have no impact on the underlying cash and fiscal balances.

Positive interest earnings of the HAFF would have a positive impact on the underlying cash and fiscal balances. Costs incurred by the Future Fund Board would have a negative impact on the underlying cash and fiscal balances. Payments in relation to social housing, affordable housing or acute housing needs would have a negative impact on the underlying cash and fiscal balances.

STATEMENT OF COMPATIBILITY WITH HUMAN RIGHTS

Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.

This bill is compatible with human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.

HUMAN RIGHTS IMPLICATIONS

Overview
The National Housing Supply and Affordability Council Bill 2023 is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 .

The Bill establishes the Council as an independent statutory advisory body to inform the Commonwealth’s approach to housing policy by delivering independent advice, reports and research to the Government on options to improve housing supply and affordability across the housing spectrum.

Human rights implications

The HAFF Bill is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in subsection 3(1) of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 .

7.4                The HAFF Bill engages the following rights:

Article 9 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) - the right to social security;

Article 11(1) of the ICESCR - the right to an adequate standard of living;

Article 12 of the ICESCR - the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health;

Article 2 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) - the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women;

Article 14(2)(h) of the CEDAW - the right of rural women to enjoy adequate living conditions, particularly in relation to housing, sanitation, electricity and water supply, transport and communications;

Article 19 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - the obligation to take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect children from all forms of physical or mental violence;

Article 27 of the CRC - the obligation to take appropriate measures to assist parents and others responsible for the child to …in case of need provide material assistance and support programmes, particularly with regard to nutrition, clothing and housing; and

Article 21 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples - the right of Indigenous peoples to the improvement of their economic and social conditions, including in the area of housing.

Right to an adequate standard of living, including food, water and housing

Article 11(1) of the ICESCR recognises the right to an adequate standard of living, including food, clothing and housing. States have an obligation to ensure the availability and accessibility of the resources necessary for the progressive realisation of this right.

The HAFF Bill seeks to promote this right by providing a funding source of up to $1 billion per year to support affordable and social housing and to meet a range of acute housing needs including, but not limited to, housing improvements in Indigenous communities and housing services for women, children and veterans. In the HAFF’s first five years, the Australia Government intends to use disbursements to build:

40,000 homes to provide social housing- 8,000 of which would be allocated to women and children leaving or experiencing domestic and family violence and older women on low incomes who are at risk of homelessness; and

20,000 affordable homes for frontline workers like police, nurses and cleaners who kept us safe during the pandemic.

Over the same time period, the HAFF would also provide:

$800 million for the repair, maintenance and improvements of housing in remote Indigenous communities (noting that grants from the HAFF could also be made for housing needs in relation to non-remote Indigenous communities);

$400 million for crisis and transitional housing options for women and children leaving or experiencing domestic and family violence and older women on low incomes who are at risk of homelessness; and

$60 million to build housing and fund specialist services for veterans experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness.

The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (the Committee) has stated that the ‘right to adequate housing, which is thus derived from the right to an adequate standard of living, is of central importance for the enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural rights.’ [1] The Committee has highlighted the importance of housing affordability as part of this right:

‘Personal or household financial costs associated with housing should be at such a level that the attainment and satisfaction of other basic needs are not threatened or compromised … States parties should establish housing subsidies for those unable to obtain affordable housing, as well as forms and levels of housing finance which adequately reflect housing needs.’ [2]

The HAFF Bill would promote the right to adequate housing by establishing an additional source of funding for social housing and affordable homes, with the aim to build 70,000 social and affordable homes in its first five years of operation.

The HAFF Bill would further support this right by providing a funding source for the repair, maintenance and improvement of housing in Indigenous communities, which would improve the habitability of these dwellings, another key aspect of this right identified by the Committee. [3] This would also enhance the right of rural women to enjoy adequate living conditions in relation to housing, as enshrined in the CEDAW. It would also promote the right of Indigenous peoples to the improvement of their economic and social conditions, including in the area of housing, contained in Article 21 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The Committee has indicated that States parties must ‘give due priority to those social groups living in unfavourable conditions by giving them particular consideration.’ [4] The HAFF Bill would ensure that due priority is given to groups of people in need of housing (including groups experiencing or at particular risk of homelessness) in Australia, by providing funding to address, in particular, the housing needs of those living in Indigenous communities, women and children leaving or experiencing domestic and family violence, older women at risk of homelessness, and veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

Right to social security

Article 9 of the ICESCR recognises the right to social security, which requires a social security system be established in a country. It requires States parties to, within their maximum available resources, ensure access to a social security scheme that provides a minimum essential level of benefits to all individuals and families that will enable them to acquire at least essential health care, basic shelter and housing, water and sanitation, foodstuffs, and the most basic forms of education.

The HAFF Bill promotes this right by providing funding to support social housing and affordable housing. It also seeks to prioritise groups of people in need of housing and who may otherwise face difficulties in accessing social security, including, but not limited to, those living in remote Indigenous communities, women and children leaving or experiencing domestic and family violence and older women at risk of homelessness.

Protection of women and children from violence

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has clarified that discrimination against women includes gender-based violence (that is, violence that is directed against a woman because she is a woman or that affects women disproportionately). [5] The HAFF Bill would promote the right to protection from violence for women and children, contained in the CEDAW and the CRC respectively, by providing funding to build social housing, and transitional and crisis housing for women and children leaving or experiencing domestic and family violence.

In particular, in the first five years of operation the HAFF would aim to build 8,000 social housing properties that would be allocated to women and children leaving or experiencing domestic and family violence, as well as older women at risk of homelessness, who may also be at higher risk of experiencing violence. The Government intends to use the HAFF to provide $200 million for crisis and transitional housing options for those same groups of people in need of housing (including groups experiencing or at particular risk of homelessness) in its first five years.

Right to health

Article 12 of the ICESCR recognises the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. The Committee has stated that the right to health embraces a wide range of socio-economic factors that promote conditions in which people can lead a healthy life, and extends to the underlying determinants of health, including housing. [6] As discussed above, the HAFF Bill would work to promote access to housing to a range of groups of people in need of housing (including groups experiencing or at particular risk of homelessness) in Australia by providing an additional funding source for social housing, affordable housing and to address a range of acute housing needs.

Conclusion

The HAFF Bill is compatible with human rights because it promotes:

Article 9 of the ICESCR - the right to social security,

Article 11(1) of the ICESCR - the right to an adequate standard of living,

Article 12 of the ICESCR - the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health,

Article 2 of the CEDAW - the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women,

Article 14(2)(h) of the CEDAW - the right of rural women to enjoy adequate living conditions, particularly in relation to housing, sanitation, electricity and water supply, transport and communications,

Article 19 of the CRC - the obligation to take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect children from all forms of physical or mental violence,

Article 27 of the CRC - the obligation to take appropriate measures to assist parents and others responsible for the child to …in case of need provide material assistance and support programmes, particularly with regard to nutrition, clothing and housing, and

Article 21 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples - the right of Indigenous peoples to the improvement of their economic and social conditions, including in the area of housing.