Homelessness and human rights
Media and commentary on our work to protect and strengthen human rights for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
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Homelessness, disability and institutional neglect
A severe shortage of social housing, combined with an increasingly unaffordable private rental market and inadequate social security payments, is causing more and more people to experience homelessness across Australia. Homelessness can happen to anyone, but people with disability are at increased risk. PIAC advocates for a social security system that genuinely supports people to access…
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Improved efficiency standards for new houses in NSW
PIAC’s Energy + Water Consumer Advocacy Program (EWCAP) has welcomed the Commonwealth, state and territory government agreement to improve residential energy efficiency standards in the National Construction Code. The changes, supported by a joint community and industry campaign, will lift minimum NatHERS energy efficiency ratings from 6 to 7 Stars and require homes to meet…
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2SER interview: everyone deserves a healthy home
Living in a house that is difficult to warm or cool down isn’t just annoying and unhealthy. It can also be very expensive. With rising energy prices, many of us are understandably concerned about our next power bill. Thomas Chailloux, Policy Officer joins 2SER Breakfast to discuss why everyone deserves to have a healthy home.
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2SER interview: housing affordability crisis
We all need a home. But where do you turn if you cannot find one you are able to afford? Decades of under-investment by government have created a severe shortage of social housing. Low incomes, social security payments and rental assistance are not keeping pace with rent increases. Thomas Chailloux from the Public Interest Advocacy…
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Public forum on policing public space
Thank you to everyone who attended PIAC’s online forum on 18 May and heard from policy, legal and consumer experts, as we formally launched a new joint report with Homelessness NSW. ‘Policing Public Space: The experiences of people sleeping rough,’ highlights how negative interactions with police can stop people who are experiencing homelessness from enjoying…
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Reducing homelessness: scheme helps 50,000 people out of debt
PIAC’s Homeless Persons’ Legal Service first recommended the Word Development Order Scheme in 2006, to reduce the impact of fines on people who are financially vulnerable.
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Opinion: Public housing in NSW – a tragic game of musical chairs
By Dr Louis Schetzer, Senior Policy Officer in PIAC’s Homeless Persons’ Legal Service As a kid I intensely disliked the game musical chairs. There was something in the underlying premise of the game that offended my childhood sensibilities – a dozen or so excited children contesting a deliberately inadequate supply of chairs, with a backing…
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Homelessness in NSW up by 37% since 2011
Alarming new statistics on homelessness, released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday, reveal a sharp increase in homelessness in NSW in recent years, with a particularly worrying rise in the number of older women experiencing homelessness. PIAC’s Senior Policy Officer for Homelessness, Dr Louis Schetzer said that the figures, from the 2016 census,…
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Homeless women: #metoo and the need to look beyond rough sleepers
The recent City of Sydney Street Count found that the number of people sleeping rough in inner Sydney has decreased by 24 percent compared to the same time last year. That translates to 100 less people sleeping on the streets. In many respects, this is an extraordinary result – the largest reduction in rough sleeping…
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Proposed homelessness laws heavy-handed and counter-productive
The NSW Government’s proposed new laws to give police more power to forcibly evict homeless people from public spaces are heavy-handed and an ineffective way of dealing with homelessness in the inner city. ‘There are over 400 rough sleepers in the city on any given night, and these laws will affect all of them,’ said…