Sector Briefing: Productivity Commission Review of the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement

The Productivity Commission recently released its report on the review of the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement (NHHA). The review examines how well the Australian, State and Territory Governments have achieved the objectives, outcomes and outputs set out in the Agreement, and the suitability of the Agreement for the future.

The report makes a number of recommendations about how the government could better target the $16billion it spends on housing assistance and homelessness services. Recommendations include: 

• All housing assistance be brought under the next agreement. This includes Commonwealth Rent Assistance and home ownership schemes
• Review of Commonwealth Rent Assistance to improve its adequacy and targeting
• Remove constraints on new housing supply 
• Improve the safety net of homelessness services and social housing 
• Better policy coordination across jurisdictions

You are invited to join National Shelter and sector colleagues to hear from Commissioner Malcolm Roberts about the report and unpack the recommendations. We will also be be joined by economist Emma Dawson (Per Capita) who has published on housing affordability in Australia, including the recent report A Home of One's Own - philanthropic and social sector solutions for women's housing. 

This event is timely as we lead into the development of a National Housing and Homelessness Plan, and ultimately the renegotiation of a future NHHA. 

The event is free but registrations are essential. 

Speaker - Malcolm Roberts

Malcolm was appointed as a full-time Commissioner to the Productivity Commission in 2019. After many years serving as a policy adviser to ministers, Malcolm led policy development and advocacy for national peak bodies in the housing, retail, and energy sectors. Over the past 10 years, his career has focused on energy policy, serving as CEO of the National Generators’ Forum, the Energy Networks Association, and the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association. Malcolm is also a former chair of the Queensland Competition Authority.

Speaker - Emma Dawson 

Emma Dawson is Executive Director of public policy think tank Per Capita. She has worked as a researcher at Monash University and the University of Melbourne; in policy and public affairs for SBS and Telstra; and as a senior policy adviser in the Rudd and Gillard Governments. Emma has published reports, articles and opinion pieces on a wide range of public policy issues. She is a regular contributor to The Age and SMH and Guardian Australia, is a frequent guest on various ABC radio programs nationally, and an occasional panellist on The Drum on ABC TV. She appears regularly as an expert witness before parliamentary inquiries and often speaks at public events and conferences in Australia and internationally. 

Emma is the co-author of Per Capita’s landmark report Measure for Measure: Gender Equality in Australia, and co-editor, with Professor Janet McCalman, of the collection of essays What happens next? Reconstructing Australia after COVID-19, published by Melbourne University Press in September 2020. She joined the Board of Australia21 in June 2021 and is a Fellow of the Women’s Leadership Institute of Australia.