Housing key workers: scoping challenges, aspirations, and policy responses for Australian cities

Abstract

AHURIAHURI is a national independent research network with an expert not-for-profit research management company, AHURI Limited, at its centre. AHURI's mission is to deliver high quality research that influences policy development and practice change to improve the housing and urban environments of all Australians.Using high quality, independent evidence and through active, managed engagement, AHURI works to inform the policies and practices of governments and the housing and urban development industries, and stimulate debate in the broader Australian community.AHURI undertakes evidence-based policy development on a range of priority policy topics that are of interest to our audience groups, including housing and labour markets, urban growth and renewal, planning and infrastructure development, housing supply and affordability, homelessness, economic productivity, and social cohesion and wellbeing. AHURI Limited also gratefully acknowledges the contributions, both financial and in-kind, of its university research partners who have helped make the completion of this material possible. DisclaimerThe opinions in this report reflect the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of AHURI Limited, its Board, its funding organisations or Inquiry Panel members. No responsibility is accepted by AHURI Limited, its Board or funders for the accuracy or omission of any statement, opinion, advice or information in this publication. AHURI journalAHURI Final Report journal series is a refereed series presenting the results of original research to a diverse readership of policy-makers, researchers and practitioners. Peer review statementAn objective assessment of reports published in the AHURI journal series by carefully selected experts in the field ensures that material published is of the highest quality. The AHURI journal series employs a double-blind peer review of the full report, where anonymity is strictly observed between authors and referees.

Housing the Teacher Workforce: A Scoping Review

“…Mindful of the limitations of conflating outlet ranking with the quality of individua papers, using the international ranking quartiles of Scimago Journal and Country Rank While a small number of papers had explicit aims of investigating housing affordability and teachers, e.g., [3,17,18], in most studies, issues of housing and the school education workforce were peripheral to other matters. These included reducing or optimizing staff movements [19,20]; how best to use land or existing buildings [21][22][23]; how infrastructure (including housing) impacts identity, commitment to the profession, or working conditions [24][25][26][27]; or were aimed at all key/essential workers, of which teachers are a sub-category [4,5,[28][29][30][31][32][33]. A few outlier examples included linking housing to broader land use [34], purchasing decisions [35], or advocating for a particular type of construction to address the lack of housing issue [36].…”

“…At the same time, post-2008 global financial crisis megatrends of accelerated (re)urbanization of capital and people, the provision of cheap credit, and the rise of intra-society inequities has led to an international housing crisis [2]. For those attracted to and retained in teaching (as with other essential workers), salaries have not kept up within inflation and heated housing markets mean that some schools-including those in housing market areas that are desirable to higher income households-may be experiencing difficulties in finding staff [3][4][5].…”

Private sector involvement in social and affordable housing

“…All key worker jobs require physical presence-few key workers can work from home. Proximity to work is particularly important in healthcare, emergency services and some community and welfare support roles in order for workers to cover shifts, quickly respond to increases in service demand and attend emergency situations (Gilbert, Nasreen et al 2021).…”

“…They have been popular in the UK for decades (Monk and Whitehead 2010). If properly structured, shared ownership or equity schemes have potential to deliver housing for key workers and other moderate-income earners in all Australian cities and regional areas (Gilbert, Nasreen et al 2021). There is also potential for private sector institutions to help fund such schemes or develop their own schemes for their own employees.…”

Solving the shortage of psychiatric – mental health nurses in acute inpatient care settings

“…Such a subsidy, if enacted, should not be restricted to nurses but any public sector area where recruitment and retention significantly affects safe service delivery. Recent policy focused research centred on the Australian cities of Sydney and Melbourne (Gilbert et al, 2021) indicates this proposal is not so radical but is necessary to ensure the safety and welfare of all in areas where recruitment and retention is particularly challenging. Furthermore, we argue that new capital building projects undertaken on public land banks should include healthcare staff accommodation to be offered in the first and second year of graduation and employment.…”