Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated ActsPreamble
This preamble sets out the matters taken into account by the Parliament in enacting this Act.
Housing and shelter are basic human needs.
Most Australian residents are able to obtain housing of an appropriate standard within their means.
However, people who are economically or socially disadvantaged may be less likely to obtain affordable, secure and appropriate housing. They may also be more likely to suffer discrimination in their efforts to obtain adequate housing and may be at a greater risk of homelessness.
The inability to obtain adequate and ecologically appropriate housing can have adverse effects on health and the quality of life and reduces the prospects of obtaining employment and other opportunities that would ordinarily arise for people during their lifetimes.
Australia has acted to protect the rights of all its citizens, including people who have inadequate housing, by recognising international standards for the protection of universal human rights and fundamental freedoms through:
(a) the ratification of the International Covenants on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and on Civil and Political Rights; and
(b) the ratification of the Conventions on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women and on the Rights of the Child; and
(c) the acceptance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and of the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women; and
(d) the enactment of legislation such as the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 .
Accordingly the Parliament considers that the provision, by the Governments of the Commonwealth, the States, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory, of housing assistance to people requiring access to affordable and appropriate housing is essential to reduce poverty and its effects on individuals and on the community as a whole.
The Parliament therefore intends that:
(e) housing assistance should be directed towards people who are on low incomes or otherwise meet barriers in obtaining the housing they need; and
(f) housing assistance will be provided in ways that reflect their needs and aspirations and will ensure that their rights are properly protected and due regard is had to their responsibilities; and
(g) housing assistance will, as far as possible, offer a choice between different forms of assistance and between different providers of assistance and between different types of housing and between different areas in which housing is located and include the provision of targeted subsidies to home purchase aspirants; and
(h) housing assistance for which money is provided under this Act will have as its express objective the obtaining of benefits by the people who receive the assistance in ways that are effective and ensure that money provided is spent efficiently and is properly accounted for.
In giving effect to the above intentions, the Parliament recognises that it is desirable for the Governments of the Commonwealth, the States, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory to:
(i) work together in providing access to affordable appropriate housing and work in cooperation with local governing bodies, as appropriate, in view of the regulatory and other functions of those bodies with respect to the design, planning and management of cities and towns; and
(j) encourage private sector involvement in the provision of appropriate and affordable housing; and
(k) work in cooperation with non‑government organisations that provide housing and related assistance, including environmentally oriented groups concerned with conservation, transport and urban form, and organisations that provide community and rental housing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and organisations that have responsibility for the provision of services for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, in view of the contribution of non‑government organisations to the provision of housing assistance.
The Parliament regards it as essential that, in giving effect to these intentions, housing assistance funded under this Act will be planned and delivered so as to take full account of the range of factors that contribute to the quality of life of the people receiving the assistance.
These factors include the liveability of communities, and equality of opportunity, non‑discrimination, and respect for dignity and self‑esteem, for people receiving housing assistance.