Submission to National Housing and Homelessness Plan
The AMA’s submission to the federal government’s housing and homelessness plan says the plan must clearly reflect the direct link between housing and health.
The AMA is pushing for the federal government’s upcoming National Housing and Homelessness Plan to clearly reflect the strong link between housing and health.
In a submission to the Department of Social Services, the AMA argues the 10-year plan should consider broader social and community needs, and focus on equity and access issues of appropriate housing for communities with diverse needs.
This could include mobilising primary healthcare services to people most in need, flexible and targeted community outreach services attached to housing providers and prioritising vaccine access to populations in insecure or unstable housing.
The AMA’s submission also recommends the Department of Social Services actively seek Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander expertise to help inform the plan.
“The plan presents an opportunity to shape a well informed and responsive approach to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander housing needs that is guided by a commitment to deliver equity, better health outcomes, and significantly reducing the number of people who are living in over-crowded and unfit-for-purpose housing,” the submission says.
The AMA supports the government’s goal of developing a plan to help more Australians access safe and affordable housing, with a view to collaborating with state and territory governments.
