IEU members: we need your input on affordable housing

IEU members are invited to share their experiences of housing pressure to inform the Australian union movement’s ongoing campaign for affordable housing.

Your contributions will help shape union advocacy for fairer housing policy and better outcomes for working people.

The IEU, along with other education and health unions, has been asked to identify members willing to share their experiences of housing stress, particularly those in regional and remote areas.

Selected participants will attend a Housing Summit in Canberra on Wednesday 1 July to speak directly about the challenges of securing housing. Other members will contribute through a broader ACTU-coordinated storytelling campaign.

The deadline for applications is 1 June. Contact your Organiser if you are interested in participating or email info@ieuvictas.org.au.

Members in housing stress – the impact on education

IEU members across Victoria and Tasmania are experiencing increasing housing affordability stress. Housing is generally considered affordable when it costs 30% or less of income. In many areas –particularly regional and remote parts of Victoria and Tasmania –such options are scarce or completely unavailable.

Members also report that housing quality can be sub-standard and tenure highly insecure, leaving them vulnerable to sudden rent increases or changes in circumstances that make their housing unsustainable.

As a result, many school staff are unable to afford to live near their workplaces, leading to long and costly commutes and placing additional pressure on decisions about whether they can remain in the profession.

Access to safe, stable, and affordable housing is a key determinant of health, directly affecting not only financial stability but also physical and mental wellbeing.

Working with the ACTU and other unions, particularly in education and health, the IEU has already had input into solutions. These include targeted government and employer rental subsidies in areas of low housing supply and high workforce demand, and stamp duty exemptions for key workers.

Housing affects education

“Housing stressors impact all aspects of educators’ lives, including their work,” says Deputy General Secretary Kylie Busk. “That affects the learning environment for students.”

She says educational outcomes improve when children live in stable, high-quality housing.

“Housing is key to better educational, social, and emotional outcomes for educators, young people and their wider communities.”

Kylie says the advocacy IEU members contribute to the campaign “is not just about them”, although that it is an essential part of it.

“Their voices also help address housing affordability more broadly, improving society and the lives of their students and families.”

Budget housing measures welcomed

The Australian union movement has welcomed federal budget measures aimed at improving housing affordability, including changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) President Michele O’Neil said the current system has “taxed work harder than taxing wealth”.

“This budget marks a shift that gives workers a fairer shot at housing stability through tax changes that will start to rebalance the rules,” she said.

The Affordable Housing Campaign

Australian unions have long argued for reform of tax settings that have contributed to rising house prices and reduced housing affordability for workers.

The ACTU’s Affordable Housing Campaign, running for more than a year ahead of the summit, states: “Everyone should be able to build a secure, decent life. But right now, workers are doing everything right and still falling behind.

“Without tackling housing affordability, every hard-fought pay increase risks being swallowed up by rising rent and house prices.”

Housing For All

The campaign builds on the ACTU’s Housing For All policy document, developed following ACTU Congress 2021, which affirms housing as a fundamental human right.

Key findings included:

• Housing stress is driven by rising prices, wage stagnation, insecure work, and limited housing supply

• Tax settings such as negative gearing and capital gains tax discounts disproportionately benefit higher-income households

• The top 10% of households receive the majority of these tax benefits

• Public and community housing has not kept pace due to long-term underinvestment

• Market-based housing policy alone has not delivered affordability or stability

Workers should be able to live near their jobs, families, and essential services rather than being pushed to outer urban areas.

Sustained advocacy is needed to ensure secure, appropriate, and affordable housing for all Australians.

That advocacy begins with ensuring the voices of union members are heard.