Housing Policy
Housing Policy
A National Commitment to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Housing
The Housing Policy Partnership (HPP) is a national platform that brings together Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders, all levels of government, and housing sector representatives to improve housing outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
The HPP is a key mechanism under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, focused on delivering progress towards Outcome 9, which commits to ensuring that:
- Target 9A: By 2031, at least 88% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people live in appropriately sized (not overcrowded) housing.
- Target 9B: By 2031, all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander households have access to affordable, secure housing.
The HPP establishes a joined-up approach between governments and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representatives, ensuring housing policies and investments align with community priorities. It plays a crucial role in identifying reforms, reducing service gaps and duplication, and driving place-based strategies that support the Priority Reforms of the National Agreement.
Artist: Kimiah Alberts, Artwork by Gungalu, Koinjmal, Yiman and South Sea Islander woman
Objectives Of The Housing Policy Partnership
The HPP is designed to create lasting change, embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership in housing policy and investment. The Partnership aims to:
Establish a coordinated, partnership approach
between governments and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community representatives to strengthen housing outcomes.
Focus on the Priority Reforms
in the National Agreement, ensuring they are used to enable First Nations people to secure appropriate, affordable housing that aligns with their aspirations, priorities, and needs.
Identify and advocate for specific reforms
that increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in appropriate and affordable housing, enabling better life outcomes in areas such as employment, health, education, and connection to community and Country.
Improve collaboration across governments, the Coalition of Peaks, and housing organisations,
particularly community-controlled organisations, to reduce service gaps and duplication while strengthening housing outcomes under the National Agreement.
Support the implementation of the National Agreement,
ensuring that governments meet their commitments to Priority Reforms and socioeconomic targets related to housing.
Ensure a bottom-up, community-led approach
to housing policy that strengthens Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander self-determination and supports community-driven solutions to Closing the Gap.
Empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representatives to negotiate and implement agreements with governments
ensuring that all Priority Reforms and place-based policy strategies are aligned with the National Agreement.
Objectives Of The Housing Policy Partnership
aims to promote equitable, affordable, and sustainable housing solutions through collaborative policymaking. It seeks to align stakeholders across sectors to address housing challenges and drive impactful change.
Our Priorities In 2025
The HPP’s 2025 workplan will focus on delivering measurable progress, with key priorities including:
Strengthening Coordination on Targets 9A & 9B
Improving collaboration between government and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander housing sector to accelerate progress.
Identifying and Implementing Housing Reforms
Developing targeted reforms that increase access to appropriately sized, affordable housing.
Expanding Investment in Community-Controlled Housing
Supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Housing Organisations (ATSICCHOs) to deliver housing solutions at scale.
Addressing the Drivers of Housing and Homelessness Issues
Exploring systemic solutions to barriers in housing access, affordability, and homelessness prevention.
Embedding Community-Led Approaches
Ensuring housing solutions are place-based and responsive to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander needs and aspirations.
Enhancing Data Sovereignty and Accountability
Supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to control, manage, and utilise housing data for advocacy and sector growth.
Why The HPP Is Changing The Way Policy Is Developed
Housing is more than just a place to live—it is a foundation for Closing the Gap. Without safe, stable, and affordable housing, progress in education, employment, health, and justice outcomes remains out of reach.
The HPP ensures that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices drive housing policy, rather than being sidelined. By embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership in decision-making, the HPP is a critical mechanism for achieving sustainable, long-term housing outcomes that align with the aspirations of communities.
Artwork
Coming Together – In Partnership
Coming together – in partnership embodies the continuing journey of paving current and new pathways forward with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s and housing initiatives across the nation. The colours reflect our deeply rich and diverse Cultures, from the land to the sea, to rivers to the mountains across wide plains and the many diverse landscapes our mobs live. Country is home.
We create meaningful connections when we come together to meet, share and yarn about things that are important and vital to our well-being and collective futures. In this artwork I wanted to create a sense of joy, good spirit, and connectedness that captures what it means to belong to our lands and community in relationship to each other. Home is family.
