ACTCOSS welcomes bill to enshrine access to housing as a human right

The ACT Greens today introduced a bill to the Legislative Assembly to enshrine the right to housing in the ACT’s Human Rights Act. This move follows sustained advocacy from ACTCOSS, service providers, other community organisations, and frontline workers who see the impact of housing insecurity every day. 

“Housing is a human right, and we need our legal system to recognise this instead of treating it as only a commodity or investment vehicle” said ACTCOSS CEO Dr Devin Bowles. 

“This legislation would strengthen institutional safeguards for everyone, but in particular, provide a minimum guarantee for those most vulnerable in our society.”   

“Unfortunately, we can see internationally how rapidly government and civil society institutions can be dismantled. In this context, ACTCOSS commends efforts to strengthen institutional support for human rights”, said Dr Bowles.   

The proposed amendment would require government to consider housing alongside other rights in its reviews of legislation. It would help protect people from discrimination in housing, from being evicted unfairly, or from having utilities cut off arbitrarily. It would help ensure vulnerable people have access to emergency accommodation when they need it most. 

“Crucially, this amendment doesn’t require government to immediately build large volumes of housing or override the market-based approach for most Canberrans. This should make support for the principle of housing as a human right uncontroversial, but it also means other complementary steps are also required to ensure no Canberran lacks the security of a home.” 

“Continuing to expand investment in public and community housing is essential if the right to housing is to be realised in Canberra,” concluded Dr Bowles.

ACTCOSS advocates for social justice in the ACT and represents not-for-profit community organisations.
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For more information or comment, please contact
Dr Devin Bowles, CEO, ACTCOSS, on 0413 435 080.

Authorised by Dr Devin Bowles on behalf of the
ACT Council of Social Service Inc (ACTCOSS)