Housing as critical social and economic infrastructure: A decision-making framework

Housing is an important social and economic asset for society. However, increasing costs of living and demand for affordable housing is outpacing supply in Australia. Governments and housing providers, particularly community housing providers, are grappling with these challenges. This paper discusses steps towards building a more rigorous, evidence-based approach for social and affordable housing provision in Australia. It is proposed that housing be considered like other critical social and economic infrastructure such as schools, hospitals and civil infrastructure (i.e., roadways). The paper presents findings of Australian industry-led social and affordable housing research undertaken between 2014 to 2020. Past and current research findings inform the decision-making framework, including: (i) a productivity-based conceptual framework; (ii) the establishment of nine impact domains including meaningful and measurable outcomes and indicators; (iii) a composite return on investment approach which addresses the broader benefits of access to safe and secure housing; and (iv) thirteen elements being used to map the complex and integrated social and affordable housing network. The emergent decision-making framework resulting from this longitudinal study will be a critical tool for government and social and affordable housing providers to achieve economically and socially sustainable outcomes.