The nation’s broken rental assistance system is failing our older Australians, as many will plunge into homelessness if action is taken as the number of Australians over 75 grows at almost twice the rate of the population.
That’s the finding of new research by the Retirement Living Council, which has renewed its call for urgent changes to the Commonwealth Rent Assistance program.
New data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) shows the number of Australians over 75 receiving CRA but still experiencing employment pressure has increased nationally by 116 per cent since 2013.
Where there were 25,485 nationwide in this category in 2013, in 2025 there was a whopping 55,030 – an increase of $29,545.
This jump of 116 percent compares to an increase in the population of this age group of only 59 percent.
Older Australians are working hard. Photo: Getty
The areas where this increase is most felt are the Northern Territory, which is up 223 per cent, Tasmania (up 139 per cent) and Western Australia (up 125 per cent).
If they had not received the CRA, the number of over-75s who would have been under rental pressure would have been 125,185 across the country, with the largest numbers in New South Wales (43,515), Queensland (33,680) and New South Wales (43,515).
RLC Executive Director Daniel Gannon said this was not a red flag – “it’s a warning”.
“Even with the CRA, 55,000 older Australians are still under rental pressure, and without it, that number would triple to 180,000,” he said.
“This data reveals an ongoing crisis in Australian cities, where rental pressures and housing shortages collide with the growing challenge of caring for older Australians.”
He said reform of the CRA was needed to ensure vulnerable Australians did not slip through the cracks.
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“This is not a problem around the edges. Rent assistance is broken, outdated and miles behind, and every delay pushes older Australians into homelessness,” Mr Gannon said.
“This is no longer a problem that can be solved – it is a national housing and care challenge that calls for urgent action to prevent many older Australians from becoming homeless.
“Most at risk are older women who are the fastest growing group of homeless people in Australia.”
Independent ACT MP David Pocock backed the RLC’s calls for reform, saying Australians young and old were facing high levels of rental stress and were in dire need of affordable and suitable housing.
“Our housing system is not working,” he said.
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Senator David Pocock. Photo: NewsWire / Martin Ollman
“All the reports of the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee that I received from the Government to legislate suggested that the Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA) should be greatly increased.
“For years I have been urging the Government to listen to the experts and increase the basic rates of welfare payments and the CRA rate to lift people above the poverty line and relieve housing pressure.
“This costs money but it means that we don’t have Australians living off the streets and it can save us money in other areas.
“As well as increasing the basic JobSeeker rates and related payments, the Government should continue to increase the rate of Commonwealth Rent Assistance to address long-term reductions in adequacy and better reflect current rents being paid.”
While a household is considered rent-stressed if it spends 30 percent of its income on housing, many older renters pay from 60 percent to 90 percent of their income to keep a roof over their heads.
Since mandatory pension payments were not legislated until 1992, many retirees did not benefit from this – and even those who had saved for their retirement were faced with situations where the rising cost of living depleted their funds faster than expected.
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A spokeswoman for the Housing for the Aged Action Group, Fiona York, said the CRA is not compatible at all.
“Older people can’t age well in private rental properties,” she said.
“If we look at the last two Censuses, we have seen an increase of 73 percent of elderly people who are employed and we expect that to continue,” he said.
Dee-Anne Bock moved to her retirement village in Parkside with her late husband in December 2012, leaving two pensions for one when he died the following November.
He said he did not qualify for CRA, but said it would greatly reduce the financial pressure of trying to get by week after week.
“I’m almost 80 years old and I need government help – I’m asking the Federal Government to review this whole situation that they have pushed forward with rent assistance for people who are getting it, because there are people like me, usually single women like me whose husbands have died, and they have to try to continue their pension.
Deanne Bock is calling on the government to reform the CRA program. Photo: Tim Joy
“35 years ago they set the standards but it’s not relevant today – you just have to look at how the price of home ownership and everything has gone up in today’s world.
“Even women of my situation came out on the other side.
“Centrelink has been very good, but there is nothing they can do about it because it is legal, so the only thing we can do is ask for this law to be looked at.”
– with Nathan Mawby
Why we desperately need CRA reform
Opinion piece by Daniel Gannon, Executive Director of the Council on Retirement Living
Australia’s rental crisis has quietly crossed a line that should alarm every policymaker, because it is now affecting our oldest citizens.
The pressure to rent for Australians over 75 is increasing at almost twice the rate of population growth.
Since 2013, the pressure to hire for this group has increased by 116 per cent, while the population aged over 75 has grown by only 59 per cent. This is not an indication of lagging behind. Real-time structural failure.
And it’s not confined to the margins. It’s happening in the suburbs where policy makers still think they don’t have housing pressure.
Older Australians who played by the rules – worked hard, saved hard – are now being squeezed by rents that exceed pensions, aid, and policy frameworks designed for a defunct Australia.
Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA) is the last line of defense for tens of thousands of elderly renters. Yet even with the CRA, more than 55,000 Australians over the age of 75 are still under pressure to rent.
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Without it, that number would have tripled to 180,000. At that point, we’re not talking about affordability – we’re talking about the pipeline that leads to homelessness, hospitalizations and premature entry into aged care.
New data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) reveals a strong trend – CRA use among Australians aged 65 and over has jumped 70 per cent since 2013, making older people the fastest growing group relying on the system.
At the same time, CRA use among those 24 and under dropped 41 percent. This is not a housing emergency for slowly aging youth. It is a completely new problem.
All states and territories have seen an alarming increase in employment stress among older CRA recipients. Western Australia, New South Wales and Queensland all increased by 120 per cent. Tasmania is high again. Even South Australia – the lowest growth area – recorded an 85 per cent surge.
Geography does not provide a buffer – age is a risk factor. So why is policy still moving at the speed of a horse and carriage?
Two targeted reforms would ease the pressure on all housing, health and aged care.
The first is to eliminate the $258,000 retirement village purchase price limit that excludes 96 percent of homes outside the CRA. This law is a remnant of the defunct housing market and economy.
Older Australians should be able to live comfortably.
The second change is to raise the Age Pension asset test limit for ‘equally entitled’ single home owners to $550,000, with a proportional increase for married couples. This change would encourage older Australians to move into safe, suitable housing without being penalized for making sensible financial decisions.
Together, these changes could open up 60,000 homes across the country, help older Australians escape housing stress, and free up homes for desperate young families.
This is not about the offer. It’s about removing the roadblocks that hold older Australians back from housing stress.
We cannot allow our parents and grandparents to spend their dark years in fear of homelessness. The time for further change has passed. The Australian government must act now, because a country that fails its elders is failing itself.
