Housing is essential for a person’s health and wellbeing and plays a major role in the living standards of Australians. Social housing programs provide rental housing at below market rates to those who may otherwise struggle to find affordable housing.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) National Housing Assistance Data Repository (NHADR) includes data on the number of social housing dwellings and income units receiving Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA) by Local Government Area (LGA). Data for individual jurisdictions may not be comparable across reporting periods or with other social housing sectors. Further, changes to scope and coverage between reporting periods may have changed. See the source data Quality Statement for important explanatory detail.

NHADR data are also used in the following dashboard menu options: Dwellings, households and household occupants, Dwellings by Remoteness Areas, Wait lists, Financial assistance for housing and Suitability of social housing size.

See AIHW - National Housing Assistance Data Repository and AIHW - Housing Assistance in Australia for further information, including in-depth commentary and analysis.

Source reference Data tables: Financial Assistance 2024, table CRA.4c; Data tables: Social Housing Dwellings 2024, table Dwellings.5