Australian Housing Conditions: A Data Infrastructure
This research project is the biggest national survey collecting information on housing conditions across all Australian states and territories.
Researchers and policy-makers know very little about housing conditions. This data infrastructure will provide the knowledge base and comparison sample for national and international research, and allow better urban, economic and social policy development.
This project is being conducted by researchers from the University of Adelaide, the University of South Australia, the University of Melbourne, Swinburne University of Technology, Curtin University and Torrens University led by Professor Emma Baker. The research is funded by the Australian Research Council’s Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities scheme in partnership with the universities.
The research team
Professor Emma Baker
Emma Baker is Professor of Housing and has a PhD in Geography and BA (Hons.) from the University of Adelaide. She has previously held NHMRC and ARC Fellowships focused on examining the relationship between health and housing. She led the 2016 ARC LIEF funded project ‘An Australian Housing Conditions Data Infrastructure’ and its 2020 follow up, 'An Australian Rental Housing Conditions Data Infrastructure'. She has expertise in collecting, managing and analysis of large housing datasets.
Associate Professor Lyrian Daniel (University of South Australia)
Lyrian Daniel is a research-intensive Associate Professor in Architecture in UniSA Creative. Lyrian Daniel will use this Data Infrastructure, enhanced with linked environmental data, to explore the complex interactions between housing and household characteristics that affect indoor environmental quality, and contribute evidence for the development of a national standard for indoor thermal environments.
Professor Andrew Beer (University of South Australia)
Andrew Beer is the Executive Dean of UniSA Business. He has led major research projects focused on tenure effects and housing assistance. His research interests include the operation and functioning of Australia’s housing markets (including the provision of housing for persons with a disability), the drivers of regional growth, structural change within the economy, and the impacts of an ageing population.
Professor Rebecca Bentley (University of Melbourne)
Rebecca Bentley has a strong interest in quantitative research methods and multi-disciplinary collaborations are a key focus in each of these themes. Bentley will bring a health perspective to the development of the proposed Data Infrastructure to enable its use within the field of population health research to answer important questions about how conditions in the rental market shape population health in contemporary Australia.
Professor Wendy Stone (Swinburne University of Technology)
Wendy Stone’s research is highly industry engaged with substantial applied government and policy research experience. Stone will use the Data Infrastructure to extend existing evidence around housing, home and household wellbeing among lower income households in rental sub-markets, focusing on vulnerable population groups including families and children, people living with disability, single persons, elderly and migrant households.
Professor Steven Rowley (Curtin University)
Steven Rowley has extensive experience of leading, designing, administering and analysing large-scale surveys in the area of housing affordability, including three surveys of over 3,000 respondents in the last four years. Rowley's research focus for this dataset is on developing evidence on rental quality and wellbeing outcomes.
Associate Professor Andi Nygaard (Swinburne University of Technology)
Andi Nygaard’s research includes the processes of urban and housing systems change with focus on on long-term neighbourhood dynamics, housing market efficiency and affordability, international migrants in housing, neighbourhoods and labour markets, and institutional economics of governance adaptations in the provision of social housing.
Professor Kerry London (Torrens University)
Kerry London has a long history of research in construction project management research and has successfully obtained and acquitted projects (e.g. ARC Discovery and Linkage projects, CRC for construction innovation, Department of Industry, Australia China Science and Research Fund). In the last five years, London has led housing projects on innovation, off-site manufacturing, building information modelling, and collaborative practices.
Ms Claire Morey
Claire completed her Master of Philosophy in History at the University of Adelaide in 2021. Her area of expertise is domestic violence in
nineteenth-century South Australia, with a particular focus on economic abuse and divorce. Claire's role in the project as project
officer, assisting in the management of the day-to-day activities of the project, including ethical approvals, survey commissioning and report.
Publications library
This project is the third version of the Australian Housing Conditions Survey, which was initially carried out in 2016 and 2020.
To see how researchers have used the 2016 and 2020 Survey data, view the AHCD publications library below.
1. Aplin, T., Lowies, B., & McGreal, S. (2022). The home environment: influences on the health of young-old and old-old adults in Australia. Ageing and Society. doi:10.1017/S0144686X22000757.
2. Singh, A. Mizdrak, Daniel, L., Blakely, T., Baker, E., Fleitas Alfonzo, L., & Bentley, R. (2022). Estimating Cardiovascular health gains from eradicating indoor cold in Australia. Environmental Health. doi.org/10.1186/s12940-022-00865-9.
3. Coulburn, L., & Miller, W. (2022) Prevalence, Risk Factors and Impacts Related to Mould-Affected Housing: An Australian Integrative Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031854.
4. Oswald, D., Moore, T., & Baker, E. (2022). Exploring the well-being of renters during the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Housing Policy. doi.org/10.1080/19491247.2022.2037177.
5. Porto Valente, C., Morris, A., & Wilkinson, S. J. (2021). Energy poverty, housing and health: the lived experience of older low-income Australians. Building Research & Information. doi.org/10.1080/09613218.2021.1968293.
6. Bower, M., Buckle, C., Rugel, E., Donohoe-Bales, A., McGrath, L., Gournay, K., Barrett, E., Phibbs, P., & Teesson, M. (2021). Trapped’, ‘anxious’ and ‘traumatised’: COVID-19 intensified the impact of housing inequality on Australians’ mental health. International Journal of Housing Policy, doi.org/10.1080/19491247.2021.1940686.
7. Viljoen, C., Lowies, B., Lushington, K., & McGreal, S. (2020) Female perspectives on housing quality and household characteristics, perceptions and challenges: Evidence from Australia’. Habitat International. doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2020.102276.
8. Daniel, L., Baker, E., & Williamson, T. (2019). Cold housing in mild-climate countries: A study of indoor environmental quality and comfort preferences in homes, Adelaide, Australia. Building and Environment, doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2019.01.037.
9. Daniel, L. Baker, E., Beer, A., Thien Anh Pham. N. (2019) Cold housing: evidence, risk and vulnerability’. Housing Studies. doi.org/10.1080/02673037.2019.1686130
1. Porto Valente, C. (2022). Energy poverty and older Australians: The extent, causes and impacts. PhD thesis. University of Technology Sydney.
2. Dreesen. S. & Heylen, K. (2021). De impact van de COVID-19 crisis op de woonsituatie van Vlamingen, Een analyse van de Grote Coronastudie. Leuven: Steunpunt Wonen. https://archief.steunpuntwonen.be/Documenten_2016-2020/Studiedagen/Webinar_Wonen_na_corona_25_februari_2021/paper-dreesen-heylen-de-impact-van-de-covid-19.pdf.
3. Baker, E. & Daniel, L. (Eds.) (2020). Rental Insights: A COVID-19 Collection, The Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute Limited, Melbourne. 10.18408/ahuri3125402.
4. Dyrenfurth, N. (2020). ‘Rental Nation: A Plan for Secure Housing in Australia. John Curtin Research Centre Policy Report no. 5. https://national.sda.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Rental-Nation-A-Plan-for-Secure-Housing-in-Australia.pdf.
5. Dignam, J. (2020). Home-Baked: Housing, Heat and Health. Better Renting. Funded by Energy Consumers Australia Limited and the ACT Government. Report: "Home-Baked: Housing, Heat, and Health" - Better Renting.
6. Liu, E., Martin, C., & Easthope, H. (2019). Poor-quality housing and low-income households. Shelter Brief No. 63. City Futures Research Centre. https://shelternsw.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Poor-quality-Housing-and-Low-Income-Households-Review-of-Evidence-and-Options-for-Reform-2019.pdf.
7. Daniel, L., Baker, E., & Williamson, T. (2018). Residential wintertime comfort in a temperate Australian climate, Conference paper.