Current funded research projects

Funding Source: AHURI Ltd

Key RMIT Researchers: Prof. Gavin Wood and Melek Cigdem

In light of continuing concerns about the affordability of housing, this project’s findings have potentially important implications for the future design of policies that affect housing outcomes. They will help policy-makers judge the effectiveness of the Henry Review’s recommendations in addressing housing supply issues, and highlight aspects of the recommendations that may remove (or introduce) distortions in housing investment and the housing market.

Funding Source: AHURI Ltd

Key RMIT Researchers: Prof. Tony Dalton, Ralph Horne, Dr. Harry Freeman and Prem Chhetri

The research assists in establishing greater certainty in policy aimed at ensuring adequate housing supply, good economic management and future contribution of the residential sector to reduce carbon emission and water savings.

Findings will assist policy makers analyse employment within the housing sector labour force and its ‘real contribution to the national economy; develop better understanding of how the housing sector labour has responded to population changes and household formation over the last decade in Australia; and analyse the housing sector labour force spatially and develop a capacity to identify ‘spatial mismatch’ between the demand for dwellings and supply of labour.

Funding Source: AHURI Ltd

Key RMIT Researchers: Prof. Tony Dalton, Ron Wakefield and Ralph Horne

The research aims to assess the impact of current work processes and management of subcontractors on productivity in the housing construction industry. It seeks to test the hypothesis that delays in housing construction are at least partly caused by difficulties in the work processes and/or management systems of subcontractors by tracking the current use and practices of subcontractors. The findings promises widespread implications for Australia’s residential housing construction sector and associated policies addressing the undersupply of housing.

Funding Source: Sacred Heart Mission

Key RMIT Researchers: Guy Johnson and Sharon Parkinson

The project is a four year randomised control study which is aimed to assess the effectiveness of the Journey to Social Inclusion program to break the cycle of chronic homelessness.

J2SI is a three year initiative that aims to improve the health, well-being, and the social and economic participation of people who are chronically homeless. It provides intensive, long term support for each person including therapeutic and skills building services.

Funding Source: Sacred Heart Mission

Key RMIT Researchers: Sharon Parkinson

This project documents and reviews the effectiveness J2SI program model in responding to the housing and support needs of the chronically homeless within a best practice framework. The process evaluation runs along side the randomised control study and seeks to connect service program activities with short, intermediate and longer term client outcomes.

Funding Source: The Salvation Army and HomeGround Services

Key RMIT Researchers: Guy Johnson, Chris Chamberlain and Sharon Parkinson

The project is a three year longitudinal study evaluating Melbourne Street to Home initiative. Melbourne Street to Home (MS2H) is a new program providing coordinated housing, support services and health intervention targeted at the most vulnerable people who are rough sleeping in inner-Melbourne.

Funding Source: AHURI Ltd

Key RMIT Researchers: Iain Campbell, Prof. Gavin Wood and Sharon Parkinson

This research project aims to provide a comprehensive population-wide analysis of the consequences of time-related underemployment as it relates to different housing tenures and household groups. The research draws on several quantitative secondary data sources, including ABS labour force statistics and the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey. The research is linked to an AHURI postdoctoral fellowship building upon Sharon Parkinson’s PhD thesis examining the connections between labour and housing insecurity in Australia.

Funding Source: AHURI Ltd

Key RMIT Researcher: Julie Lawson

The research project addresses concerns in housing choice and the need for an increased supply of social/affordable housing. It also addresses deficiencies in existing public financing mechanisms by investigating and proposing adaptation of a successfully implemented private financing scheme overseas to Australian conditions and demand.

Funding Source: AHURI Ltd

Key RMIT Researchers: Prof. Gavin Wood and Melek Cigdem

The project aims to design and implement a robust, cost effective quasi-experimental methodology for the evaluation of Victoria’s Neighbourhood Renewal Scheme. The approach has a sound conceptual basis that is grounded in economic analysis of housing markets which show that if renewal programmes yield benefits, the demand for private housing in and around the target areas will increase. Benefits will then be reflected in house prices.

Funding Source: AHURI Ltd

Key RMIT Researcher: Prof. Gavin Wood

The idea that housing careers progress smoothly from leaving the parental home through renting and then ownership, with low housing costs matching lower income post-retirement, is losing its relevance in the 21st century. Secure housing careers in homeownership are being challenged by the risks associated with socio-demographic changes, job insecurity, housing market volatility and innovation in mortgage markets. Our essay aims to chart the challenges to homeownership in the 21st century, and explore the possible policy responses to these challenges.

Funding Source: AHURI Ltd

Key RMIT Researchers: Guy Johnson and Sharon Parkinson

This essay provides a critical and reflective analysis of the Housing First approach. The US Housing First model is one approach to rehousing those experiencing chronic and street based homelessness gaining prominence in policy discourse and now being widely implemented through out Australia. Housing First approaches are based on the concept that a homeless individual’s first and primary need is to obtain stable housing, and that other issues that may impact the household can and should be addressed once permanent housing is obtained. However, there are unique features in the Australian housing market and supported housing system that create potential tensions to effectively transferring and implementing this model. The essay will provide policy makers with an answer to the question: is the Housing First model transferable to Australia?

Funding Source: AHURI Ltd

Key RMIT Researchers: Nicole Cook, Val Colic-Peisker, Elizabeth Taylor and Joe Hurley

The project focuses on residents’ concerns about changing neighbourhoods: as part of a democratic ethos of public participation in planning, many jurisdictions provide third-party rights of objection and appeal to interested groups. These rights have the potential to influence development approval processes and housing market outcomes and have the capacity to affect the achievement of compact city and social housing objectives.

To this end, the project aims to systematically examine two models of public engagement in planning approval processes. The first model comprises formal third-party objection and appeal rights (TPOAR) and the second model is characterised by ‘fast-tracked’ planning processes that bypass TPOAR to facilitate development.

Funding Source: FaCHSIA

Key RMIT Researcher: Guy Johnson

As part of the National Homelessness Research Agenda, the Australian Government commissioned the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research at Melbourne University to undertake the Journeys Home: Longitudinal study of factors affecting housing stability. Journeys Home aims to improve the understanding of, and policy response to, the diverse social, economic and personal factors that are related to homelessness and the risk of becoming homeless. It will be the first large-scale longitudinal study assessing a broad sample of Australians who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. In recognition of his expertise in the area of homeless research Guy was approached by Melbourne University to be a part of the research team.

Funding Source: AHURI Ltd

Key RMIT Researcher: Robin Goodman, Anitra Nelson, Tony Dalton and Elizabeth Taylor

This research project will provide a comprehensive analysis of the dynamics driving the use of various forms of marginal rental housing such as caravan parks and boarding houses. It will provide an understanding of how they are used, the experiences and circumstances of users, culminating in a marginal rental typology. It will provide evidence of trends in different geographical locations, the drivers of change, and the housing policy implications.

This four-staged research project will gather and analyse evidence over sixteen months. A mixed-methods approach includes analysing key statistical data, interviews with key service providers and with marginal renters, focusing on urban, regional and rural case studies showing high or representative incidence of marginal rental housing in Victoria, NSW, Queensland and the ACT. Statistical analysis will be national, presented spatially, and efforts will be made to fill well-known data gaps specifically in case study areas.