The Trends and Patterns of Informal Housing Practices in Australia

Abstract

Informal housing is well-documented in the Global South, with emerging evidence of a growing trend in the Global North. However, its hidden nature complicates policy intervention due to challenges in identification and documentation. This study is the first to document informal housing practices in Australian cities using 2021–2022 data gathered through web scraping. The findings reveal a significant weekly gap between demand (103,249) and supply (14,447), seasonal demand spikes, and spatial mismatches. These insights highlight the need for targeted population-, place-, and time-based policy interventions and provide a benchmark for monitoring policy effectiveness.