by Anthony T Schmidt

It’s a sad fact that an ever-increasing number of Australians are struggling to access permanent, secure or affordable housing – and it’s not just a recent occurrence. Indeed, for as long as I can remember, there have been calls to increase public housing stocks and improve access to affordable housing. Unfortunately, despite these calls, Australia continues to slip backwards on both counts.

In fact, recent reports state that rents across Australia have increased by an average of 17 per cent over the past 12 months alone, with prices for rental units in Sydney and Melbourne increasing the most, going up by 19 and 17.5 per cent, respectively, making even the most basic rentals unaffordable for many – and the result is devastating.

According to Homelessness Australia’s 2023 Fact Sheet in 2021-22, some 272,700 people were supported by homelessness services. Alarmingly, a further 105,000 people sought help but were unable to be assisted because of shortages of staff, or accommodation or other services. That’s 300 people a day turned away because services are overstretched!

Now, before I continue, I feel it would be disingenuous of me not to acknowledge the outstanding work being done by all levels of government, together with many of the nation’s support and welfare services (both private and public organisations), however, the latest statistics also point to the fact that much more needs to be done… urgently.

Indeed, while there are reportedly more than 175,000 households currently on the waiting list for public housing, various sources place current estimates on the public/social housing shortfall in Australia between 430,000 and 500,000+ dwellings. To put that into perspective, the Federal Government’s $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund (which, incidentally, I believe – in a totally non-partisan way – is an extremely worthwhile investment) aims to build 30,000 social and affordable housing properties in its first five years. A laudable effort certainly, but one which falls extremely short of the mark in terms of meeting demand.

In short, even when combined with the social and affordable housing projects being supported by state and local governments, NGO’s and other private sector service providers, an additional 30,000 dwellings over 5 years will not come close to meeting even the immediate need.

That said, I believe that one of the major issues limiting our capabilities in the public and affordable housing sector is one of methodology. More specifically, construction methodology.

What’s more, I believe there is an answer to this issue, and that answer is prefabricated and modular construction, including, of course, precast concrete construction.

It seems to me – as an external observer – that the concept of ‘affordable public housing’ in Australia, does not extend to the cost of construction. Indeed, if you consider the target of 30,000 houses for an investment of $10 billion, the approximate cost per dwelling runs at $333,000.

Now, while I understand the need for land, planning, services, utilities, etc. must also be considered as part of a dwelling cost, I believe that we can do much better. And it’s not only about the cost…

The apparent focus on ‘traditional’ design and construction methods also means that these dwellings take much longer to deliver than prefabricated, precast or modular homes.

As an example, we have seen projects overseas where precast home units featuring prefabricated kitchen and bathroom units, together with a standardised precast concrete design, are being delivered at a rate of 60 – 70 units per month, at a cost of around AUD$60,000 for a 65m2 2-storey duplex unit.

From a local perspective, even the most rudimentary Google search brings up numerous companies around the country offering prefabricated compact homes in 1,2,3 and 4-bedroom formats for well under $100,000 delivered.

Sure, these aren’t your ‘traditional’ homes or units, but they are new, modern, fully-featured and, most importantly, can provide permanent, secure housing for people who desperately need it.

In short, they may not be ideal for every situation, but I feel certain that if constructed as part of appropriate developments (e.g. with access to public transport, shops and services) they would provide an excellent, ‘more affordable’ affordable housing solution in a much shorter timeframe.