By Bonny Burrows
In the middle of a national housing crisis, Cardinia Shire has been named one of Melbourne’s most affordable shires for renters on minimum wage.
Anglicare Australia’s 2017 Rental Affordability Snapshot, released 27 April, highlighted metropolitan Melbourne’s top 10 local government areas in terms of rental affordability for households where the primary source of income was the minimum wage, ranking Cardinia Shire as number two.
On the weekend of 1-2 April there were 303 properties listed for rent in Cardinia Shire, of which 75.2 per cent were deemed suitable for those on low income.
Cardinia fell behind the Melton LGA which had 86.1 per cent of its listings found “affordable and appropriate” for minimum wage earners.
Rounding out the top five for Melbourne were Latrobe, Nillumbik and Wyndham shires, while the City of Casey came in at sixth.
The report determined that for a property to be affordable, the rent should be less than 30 per cent of household income.
It did not take into account a large percentage of the population, excluding households that rely on income support or pensions from the analysis as “they do not have access to appropriate and affordable properties anywhere within the boundaries of metropolitan Melbourne”.
“Households on income support are effectively locked out of the market,” the document read.
“There is a similar pattern for individuals and families on the minimum wage. Singles on the minimum wage, and families where only one partner is earning the minimum wage will (also) struggle.”
To combat this, Anglicare Australia executive director Kasy Chambers has called on the Federal Government to target rental affordability in its upcoming budget.
She said it was getting tougher for renters to make “a real home” for themselves and their families.
“Australians on low incomes are struggling to pay rent and make ends meet. And people living on income support payments can hardly afford rent anywhere,” Ms Chambers said.
“Many Australians already know that our major cities are becoming places where only the very wealthy can avoid housing stress. But this report shows that renters on low incomes are in trouble all over Australia, with regional areas failing to offer relief.”
Ms Chambers said combating the housing crisis would be a multi-organisational effort.
“If we’re serious about the right to a home, everyone will need to work together,” she said.
