Commission supports Bill to recognise adequate housing as a human right

The Australian Human Rights Commission has supported a private member’s bill that would recognise the human right to adequate housing and support improved housing outcomes for all Australians.  

The National Housing and Homelessness Plan Bill, introduced by Independent Senator David Pocock and MP Kylea Tink, would require the federal government to develop a long-term National Housing and Homelessness Plan to facilitate a human rights-based approach to housing. It would increase accountability around housing policy. The Commission has made a submission in favour of the Bill.  

The Commission has consistently called for the right to adequate housing to be protected in legislation, most notably in its landmark Free & Equal Project which proposes a human rights framework to ensure all people are treated with dignity and respect. In June, the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights agreed that the right to an adequate standard of living, which includes housing, should be one of the rights protected by law under a proposed national Human Rights Act.  

In welcoming the Bill, Commission President Hugh de Kretser signalled that progressing economic and social rights, including the right to adequate housing, would be a priority of his term, which commenced on 31 July. 

“Everyone needs a home. We should all be able to live somewhere in security, safety and dignity. Yet for many people in Australia, this is currently out of reach," he said.  

“This Bill, if passed, would help to address this. It would promote a human rights-based approach to housing policy by requiring the federal government to develop a long-term plan to prevent and end homelessness and improve housing supply and affordability. It would improve accountability, including by requiring progress reports to ensure we are making positive inroads into housing challenges. 

“We need to treat housing as a human right, not a commodity. The Commission is finalising significant work on the right to adequate housing which will be released later in the year. We look forward to working with governments and the housing and homelessness sectors to improving the realisation of this fundamental right.” 

The submission coincides with the end of National Homelessness Week and the start of the Australian Homelessness Conference, which runs 13-14 August in Adelaide.  

ENDS | Media contact: media@humanrights.gov.au or 0457 281 897