Mission Australia Housing

Mission Australia believes every person in Australia should have access to safe and secure housing. It’s an integral part of maintaining good health and feeling part of a community. A shortage of affordable housing and high rents means people on low incomes are increasingly vulnerable to homelessness. Single parent families, in particular, spend the most on housing as a percentage of their weekly gross income.

Every night more than 100,000 people in Australia are homeless. Homelessness can affect men, women and children from a wide range of backgrounds living in our cities, suburbs and country towns. The extent of the problem is hidden by the fact that most homeless people don’t sleep rough on the streets. They stay with relatives and friends until they wear out their welcome, and sleep in hotels, short-term and crisis accommodation, caravan parks and even cars.

People become homeless for many reasons, including unemployment, mental health issues, financial troubles, problems with drugs, alcohol or gambling or the loss of a job or loved one. Being homeless can wreak havoc on a person’s health and keep them out of work and socially isolated. There is no consistent definition for homelessness, but Mission Australia sees it as being a problem that goes much further than just not having access to safe shelter.

As one of the country’s largest for-purpose organisations, Mission Australia established Mission Australia Housing, a Tier 1 community housing provider in 2008. Mission Australia Housing currently owns or manages more than 1,900 social and affordable homes, including Sydney’s $32 million Common Ground development. Together, the two partner organisations work towards our combined goal of ending homelessness and ensuring people and communities in need can thrive.

As part of the Mission Australia Group, Mission Australia Housing is committed to working with our key stakeholders to shape and influence the housing agenda, informed by our practical day-to-day experience in local communities. Working in some of the most disadvantaged communities in Australia means that we are well-placed to reach the most excluded and break down the barriers that prevent some people from achieving their long-term aspirations. Tenant involvement is critical to our determination to work in partnership with local communities, drawing on their strengths, linking people with informal networks of support and creating opportunities for everyone to thrive in sustainable and self-determined communities.

You can see how we do this in Tasmania here.

Mission Australia Housing also provides both tenancy and asset management services for a number of third party organisations and private individual investors. This includes NRAS compliance management and administration services for owners with NRAS allocations.

Read more in our 2023 Annual Report and 2023 Housing Annual Report, Customer Service Charter, Mission Australia Housing Board Charter or VIC Board Charter.