Who we are
Established in 1975, Shelter NSW is the State's peak housing policy and advocacy organisation.
We are independent. We promote social justice. We lead and collaborate. We value expertise and evidence. Interested in the history of housing activism and the birth of Shelter NSW? Download the Champions of Change eBook by Dr Tony Gilmour. 3 year Shelter NSW membership now available
What a year it's been.
SEPP 70 has been extended to all Councils across NSW. 1,900 people turned up to the Sydney Alliance & The Everybody's Home Town Hall Assembly demanding more social and affordable housing, and access to clean and affordable energy. We've started a conversation with the NSW Government on inclusive planning and development through our partnerships with SSROC on the Cities for Us Summit. Together with sector partners we kept housing justice and other social justice issues on the political agenda during the NSW and Federal elections. These are some of the outcomes we have achieved over the last 12 months with the support of our members and partners. Become a member of Shelter NSW - keep up to date on housing issues; participate in housing justice campaigns; contribute to our advocacy and policy work; receive discounted prices on our events; participate in the governance of our association; and help us to make a difference. Our new membership fee structure now offers significant savings for 3 year membership subscriptions. You can download a copy of the membership form or apply online here. |
New Research
Poor quality housing and low income households
In response to an increasing trend towards higher-density living across Sydney and New South Wales, Shelter NSW commissioned the “Equitable Density” research project in 2016. Three reports from the project were published by the UNSW City Futures Research Centre in 2017, each focusing on issues for lower income and disadvantaged households at a different urban scale in a dense city – being the building, neighbourhood, and metropolitan scales. At the building scale, it was concluded that “building quality is a concern for many lower income and vulnerable households living in higher density housing. Concerns encompass design quality, construction quality and building maintenance.”[1] In light of this, we commissioned the City Futures Research Centre to conduct additional research to explore these concerns in more detail. A report from this new research has now been published, along with an accompanying article in The Conversation. The Poor-quality housing and low-income households: review of evidence and options for reform project asks “why does having good quality housing matter?” It looks at a number of sources to consider the extent of housing quality problems, queries how these are or could be addressed by policy and regulation, and identifies a number of current issues and directions for reform. Download the report here, read the article in The Conversation here and post a comment on our blog. Elections 2019 - where to now? We would like to hear from you
Housing advocates across New South Wales have endured a grueling first half of 2019. Back-to-back state and federal elections featuring some of the most promising housing platforms we’ve seen since 2009 have both returned the status quo. Ned Cutcher our Senior Policy Officer ponders what this means for the work of housing advocates. The answer - get back to basics, and talk to each other about what’s working and what’s not within our own lines of sight. As always, Shelter NSW wants to hear from you. We need to learn from you, and to understand what matters to you when it comes to the challenges of housing the people of New South Wales. If you’re so inclined, please drop us a line or give us a call to make a time for a conversation, or let us know when might be a good time for us to come to you. Now, as ever, there’s a lot to talk about. Read Ned's post election update here. The Shelter NSW team is keen to hear from you. Contact us on:
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"Many organisations have a clear history, being established on a particular date in a
specified location by a known group of people.
Not so for Shelter, or National Shelter.
Both organisations emerged gradually and informally,
as befit collectives formed by activists keen for change."
Champions of Change by Dr Tony Gilmour