Not poor enough, not rich enough: older people falling through the housing assistance eligibility gap

This report highlights the urgent housing challenges faced by older Australians. The growing number and proportion of people aged 55 years or older unable to afford homeownership, coupled with an increase in older Australians entering fixed-income retirement, has resulted in a considerable rise in those living in non-ownership housing tenures, particularly privately rented dwellings and/or carrying mortgage to retirement. Additionally, the availability and accessibility of public and community housing has declined, as have income-based, genuinely affordable income-based retirement living options. The novel contribution of this research lies in the conceptualisation and operationalisation of the Missing Middle group, namely, Australians aged 55 or older who do not qualify for housing assistance yet lack sufficient income or assets for long-term, stable housing. Our research estimates that approximately 508,000 people belong to this group. The findings reveal varying degrees of housing precarity among this cohort