Housing affordability and keyworkers: Research evidence & policy solutions

Australia’s deepening housing affordability crisis is pushing essential employees further and further from their workplaces. From education to IT, policing to healthcare, the lack of affordable housing is impacting all industries and threatening key services. This event draws on recent research to shine a light on this issue, highlighting key policy debates and offering practical strategies for action.

Expert Panel:

Dr Catherine Gilbert, from the University of Sydney’s School of Architecture, Design and Planning will present recent data on how the geography of rental and purchase affordability for early career workers in critical public services has changed across Greater Sydney in recent years. She will outline changing residential mobility, commuting patterns, incidences of housing stress and overcrowding for amongst Sydney’s key workers, and implications for essential services, including the healthcare sector.

Lucy Fokkema is the Henry Halloran Research Trust’s Practitioner in Residence, and will draw on the case study of Westmead Health and Innovation District in Sydney to explore the role of affordable housing in supporting successful health-focused innovation districts, where major health facilities are co-located with industry, research and education partners who collaborate to drive innovation and commercialisation.

David Borger, Executive Director of Business Western Sydney will share his perspectives on the research evidence, broader implications for Sydney’s social and economic future, and priority strategies for action.

Chair: Professor Nicole Gurran, Director, Henry Halloran Research Trust

The event will commence with an introduction by Professor Nicole Gurran, Director Henry Halloran Research Trust, who will also chair the Q&A.

The talk will commence at 4.15pm sharp. You are invited to join us for refreshments after the panel.

David Borger is the Executive Director of Business Western Sydney, a not-for-profit business group representing more than 120 of the region’s largest organisations in government, industry and community. It advocates for public and private sector investment that will make the region a better place to live, work, play and learn. David has also served as a NSW Government Minister for Roads, Housing, and Western Sydney.

He currently serves on several boards including Sydney Olympic Park Authority, NRMA, Evolve Housing, and the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences.

Lucy Fokkema is an urban planner and project manager with expertise in precinct development, affordable housing and social infrastructure. Over the last ten years, Lucy has held roles in state and local government, and consulted to both public and private sectors, with a focus on diverse projects that require cross-disciplinary collaboration. Lucy is the 2022 Practitioner in Residence at University of Sydney’s Henry Halloran Research Trust.

Dr Catherine Gilbert is a Lecturer in the School of Architecture, Design and Planning at the University of Sydney. An urban planner by background, Catherine’s research focuses on comparing statutory planning systems; the design and implementation of regulatory reforms to planning and implications for housing production, diversity and affordability; and the effects of declining housing affordability on low and moderate income essential workers. Catherine has led and collaborated on numerous projects funded by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) the Australian Research Council, and government and industry partners.