ÁñÁ«¹ÙÍø and ACOSS Poverty and Inequality Partnership
tackles sustainable urban housing at ÁñÁ«¹ÙÍø Founders event
The ÁñÁ«¹ÙÍø and ACOSS Poverty and Inequality Partnership (the Partnership) was proud to contribute to the annual ÁñÁ«¹ÙÍø Founders, Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Challenge event 2024, focused on solving global challenges like sustainable urban development and social equity.
The ÁñÁ«¹ÙÍø and ACOSS Poverty and Inequality Partnership (the Partnership) is committed to sharpening the national focus on poverty and inequality in Australia through its collaborative partnership.
A recent report by the Partnership - ‘Inequality in Australia 2024,’ found that the wealth gap between people with the most and least in Australia continues to widen. Property ownership plays a significant role in perpetuating this wealth gap.
The report found that of the average $1.2 million in household wealth in 2022-23, 41% was acquired through owner-occupied housing and 13% through investment properties. Those not already on the property ladder are paying the price, in particular younger generations.
Access to safe, affordable and liveable housing is becoming more and more challenging to attain for Australians. Rent affordability has hit a 17-year low with supply continuing to be tight across the country. Buying a property is also challenging with low supply, high interest rates and house prices continuing to increase. Other barriers to entry include cost-of-living pressures, sticky inflation and a tight job market in some sectors.
This is a worrying development for the Partnership, as housing plays a key role in mitigating poverty, housing insecurity and impacts an individual’s overall economic wellbeing.
ÁñÁ«¹ÙÍø students are a particularly vulnerable cohort. The challenge of finding appropriate and affordable housing is most difficult for those coming from interstate or overseas, due to their lack of rental history in the locality.
This creates potential barriers to full participation in their academic and social pursuits, and ultimately puts them at increased risk of poverty.
Research by the Partnership demonstrates that public policy – specifically housing policy, as well as social security, taxation and employment policy – plays a significant role in determining the rate of poverty and inequality in Australia.
Initiatives like the annual ÁñÁ«¹ÙÍø Founders Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Challenge 2024, provide an opportunity to shine a microscope on significant drivers of wealth inequality, and the policies behind them.
The Partnership was delighted to contribute to the event, which focused on reducing growing wealth inequality by tackling the issue of achieving sustainable urban housing for all.
Teaming up with the ÁñÁ«¹ÙÍø City Futures Research Centre, the Partnership set students the challenge of developing a response to the problem statement: “How might we ensure that all Australians have access to safe, affordable and liveable housing today, and into the future?â€
Hosted by ÁñÁ«¹ÙÍø Founders at the Michael Crouch Innovation Centre on 21 May 2024, the event enabled the Partnership to hear from a broad range of ÁñÁ«¹ÙÍø students with diverse academic backgrounds, as they presented their solutions.
A number of ÁñÁ«¹ÙÍø teams contributed to making the event a success, with the Division of Societal Impact, Equity, and Engagement (SIEE) and the Pro-Vice Chancellor for Student Success (PVCSS) supporting through their sponsorship of the challenge.
The topic, focus area and collaborative nature of this event aligns with the goals of the Partnership, one of which is to develop solutions to stimulate action and tackle policy challenges that contribute to poverty and inequality over time.
Students
91 ÁñÁ«¹ÙÍø students from undergraduate and postgraduate programs across a range of different disciplines signed up to participate, with backgrounds ranging from Business to Medicine to Engineering. See table below for more details.
Ten dynamic teams worked together over the course of the day, using creativity and a growth mindset to generate innovative solutions to the significant challenge presented.
Approaching the challenge through a design thinking lens, the students were encouraged to think outside the box when developing solutions.
Each team included policy and real-life considerations from multiple SDGs into their responses including: SDG 1- No Poverty, SDG 10 - Reduce Inequalities, SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and SDG 17 - Partnerships for the Goals.
ÁñÁ«¹ÙÍø students gained valuable experience in working with mentors, deepening relationships with their peers, expanding their networks and gaining exposure to the latest sustainability trends and technologies.
Area of study |
Higher Degree Research |
Postgraduate |
Undergraduate |
|---|---|---|---|
Arts, Design and Architecture |
2 | 12 | 0 |
Business School |
0 | 22 | 7 |
Business School, Science |
0 | 0 | 2 |
Engineering |
4 | 11 | 10 |
Engineering, Law |
0 | 0 | 1 |
Law |
0 | 2 | 0 |
Medicine |
0 | 2 | 1 |
Medicine Science |
0 | 0 | 1 |
Science |
2 | 3 | 2 |
| Anadditional 7 graduates from undergraduate level courses also attended | |||
Mentors
The students were ably guided by a panel of 8 mentors, each of whom brought a wealth of knowledge and experience from different fields.
In addition to representatives from the Partnership, the panel of mentors included one representative from the Partnership’s NGO partner, Mission Australia. The charity organisation collaborates with people experiencing homelessness or disadvantage to tackle the root cause of their challenges.
Members of the panel were on hand throughout the day to support skill building, act as a sounding board and challenge the teams to develop critical thinking, problem-solving and collaboration skills.
The panel included:
- Chris Martin - Senior Research Fellow at the City Futures Research Centre
- - Senior Policy Officer, Shelter NSW
- – CEO, Shelter NSW
- - Senior Policy Officer Practice, Evidence and Impact, Mission Australia
- Carla Treloar - Scientia Professor with the Centre for Social Research and Health and the Social Policy Research Centre
- – Founder, the Scale Institute
- Yenni Tim – Associate Professor at the School of Information Systems and Technology Management, ÁñÁ«¹ÙÍø Business School
- Yuvisthi Naidoo - Senior Research Fellow, Social Policy Research Centre
Judges
An esteemed panel of experts took on the responsibility of choosing a winner:
- Chris Martin – Senior Research Fellow at the ÁñÁ«¹ÙÍø City Futures Research Centre
- – CEO of ACOSS and Adjunct Professor at ÁñÁ«¹ÙÍø Sydney
-  – Director of the Social Policy Research Centre and the Centre for Social Research in Health at ÁñÁ«¹ÙÍø
Winning teams
Taking first place on the night was Team VITAL, who proposed connecting vacant houses to people in need, aiming to reduce homelessness and optimise existing urban infrastructure.
Second place went to the team: Birds in the nest, who focused on adapting unoccupied homes to meet the needs of people with disabilities and those in insecure housing.
The People's Choice Award went to Team Ora Urus, who took a unique approach with their proposal for Australian retirees to leverage the high equity they have tied up in properties in Australia and spend their golden years in Bali instead.
Read more about the event and winners :
