Listen to our Housing Event recording
If you missed the event, you can listen to the recording or download the transcript.
Although Australia has had uninterrupted economic growth over the last 25 years, there are rising levels of housing stress and homelessness, and record levels of household debt. Appropriate housing is a vital foundation that supports education and employment pathways, yet many Australians with disabilities face overwhelming housing challenges. Recent research confirms that unsafe and poor-quality housing can have a detrimental impact on people’s health, and that people with disabilities are especially disadvantaged when it comes to housing options.
Listen to our panel discuss what’s driving this housing inequality and explore the relationship between housing, disability and health. They also look at the broader policy context and the priorities ahead to work towards a system that’s fair, equitable and safe for the growing number of Australians with disabilities.
Listen to the panel discussion here or read the transcript of the event by downloading a word document here
Speakers
Peter Mares (Moderator) is the Author of No Place Like Home: Repairing Australia’s Housing Crisis and lead moderator with The Cranlana Centre for Ethical Leadership. Peter is an adjunct fellow at the Centre for Urban Transitions, Swinburne University and contributing editor to Inside Story magazine. Previously, he was an ABC broadcaster for 25 years.
Zoe Aitken is a Research Fellow in Epidemiology in the Disability and Health Unit at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health. She has a particular interest in understanding how socio-economic factors drive the association between disability and poor health.
Rebecca Bentley is an Associate Professor of Social Epidemiology in the Centre for Health Equity, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health at the University of Melbourne. Rebecca’s research explores the role of housing and residential location in shaping health and wellbeing in Australia. She is particularly interested in the impact of unaffordable housing on people’s lives.
Joseph Connellan has worked in the not for profit sector on developing models of affordable housing for people with disability. He currently leads the NDIS Housing Pathways Program for the Melbourne Disability Institute.
Oliver Hunter is an aspiring comedian and media personality who currently works for the Alcott Foundation’s ‘Get Skilled Access’ program. Oliver will talk about his recent experience of looking for a place to live in Melbourne.
The event was hosted by the Centre of Research Excellence in Disability and Health and the Melbourne Disability Institute, at University of Melbourne where people across disciplines work with external stakeholders, advocates, service providers and government, to solve the thorny problems around disability – of which housing is one of the key concerns.
Read the infographic on Housing Circumstances of People with Disability in Australia