Australia Faces Housing Shortage Amid Surging Immigrants... Shortage Extends to Cars, Tents, and Even Homelessness

COVID-19 Eases, Rapid Increase in Immigrants
120,000 Living in Temporary Shelters or on the Streets

Australia is facing difficulties due to the influx of immigrants. The net number of immigrants in this fiscal year alone has exceeded a record high of 400,000, and it is expected to surpass 300,000 in the next fiscal year as well.

On the 1st, Australian media outlet The Australian reported, "The Australian government expects the net number of immigrants for this fiscal year (July 2022 to June 2023) to exceed 400,000."

As COVID-19 restrictions eased and border closures were lifted, the number of working holiday visa holders and international students surged, causing a rapid increase in overseas immigrants. The Australian government estimates that the net number of immigrants will reach 315,000 in the next fiscal year.

With the rapid increase in immigrants, concerns are rising that the housing shortage may worsen. Currently, the vacancy rate for rental housing has fallen below 1%, the pre-COVID-19 level, making it difficult to find empty homes. The rental price increase rate for the last quarter also soared to the highest level in 10 years.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), currently 330,000 people are suffering greatly from rental burdens. About 120,000 people live in temporary accommodations such as cars or tents due to lack of housing, or even on the streets.

As the housing shortage worsens due to the surge in immigrants, the Australian government has decided to supply 1 million homes over five years starting next year through the National Housing Accord. They are also considering measures such as supporting mortgage insurance premiums for homeless people who buy homes. The government is pushing to establish new funds for housing construction and rental deposit support. However, there are criticisms that these government efforts alone may not be enough to solve the housing shortage due to the rapid increase in immigrants.

David Littleproud, leader of the National Party, the opposition party in Australia, stated, "The government is accepting large-scale immigrants without preparation," and argued, "The only way is to increase housing supply more than now. Major cities like Sydney and Melbourne should increase multi-family apartments rather than single-family houses."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.