Security and Renewal in Australian Public Housing: Historical Representations and Current Problems

Abstract

The current imperative to renew public housing buildings and estates in NSW and other Australian states challenges the usual view of public housing as a secure tenure. An historical examination of representations about security in public housing shows, however, that this association lacks a deep legal basis. The paper then examines the extent to which the different types of current renewal activities may be legally contested in the name of security. Concluding that current laws close off contestation of renewal decisions and termination proceedings, the paper calls for legal and policy reforms to renew the security of public housing.