A new public housing home. The government says supply is the answer to Canberra’s rental crisis, plus other support programs. Photo: ACT Government.
ACT community service organisations are urging the ACT Government to continue funding the Rent Relief Fund in a joint submission ahead of the 2025-26 ACT Budget.
The Fund provides financial relief to vulnerable private renters experiencing rental stress or severe financial hardship, but is set to end on 30 June 2025.
The government says the Fund was always meant to be a short-term measure in the wake of the COVID pandemic and is now superseded by other supports.
Attorney-General Tara Cheyne told the Legislative Assembly in April that the Fund was an “extraordinary, short-term, discrete and time-limited program”, but noted other programs and supports were available.
“I refer anyone who believes that they are under financial stress or in any sort of housing instability to, before it escalates, approach the Tenancy Assistance Program to get wraparound support and intervention,” she said.
However, community service organisations say the rental crisis for many Canberrans is ongoing, and the Fund is a vital source of support.
Since its re-establishment in April 2023, the Rent Relief Fund has delivered over 1400 grants, equating to two grants per day, to households in need. The program offers up to four weeks’ rent (maximum $2500) paid directly to landlords, helping renters stabilise their housing and connect with broader support services.
Canberra has the highest rate of rental stress among Commonwealth Rent Assistance recipients in Australia, according to the Productivity Commission’s 2025 Report on Government Services. Half (50.3%) of these households in the ACT were paying more than 30 per cent of their income on rent, and over a quarter (26.9%) were paying more than half of their income on rent.
Anglicare Australia’s 2025 Rental Affordability Snapshot found that the ACT was one of the most, if not the most, unaffordable jurisdictions for low-income households.
The UNSW City Futures Research Centre has estimated that 5400 households in the ACT have an unmet need for social and affordable housing. Currently, the average public housing wait time in the ACT is up to five years.
At an annual cost of $1.7 million, community organisations say the Rent Relief Fund is a modest yet impactful investment that addresses immediate housing needs while complementing long-term efforts to increase social and affordable housing.
They say the introduction of a short-term accommodation levy in the ACT from 1 July 2025 is forecast to generate $3.8 million in revenue in 2025-26, more than enough to sustain the program.
A case study in the joint Budget submission tells how Bree (not her real name), a single parent recovering from financial abuse, was able to maintain her tenancy and custody of her child through a Rent Relief Fund grant and wraparound support services.
ACT Shelter CEO Corinne Dobson says now is not the time to axe the Rent Relief Fund. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
ACT Council of Social Service CEO Dr Devin Bowles said the Fund reduced pressure on Canberra’s limited social housing.
“It is an amazing financial investment for the ACT Government. From a human perspective, the security of being able to stay where you live is fundamental,” he said.
ACT Shelter CEO Corinne Dobson said now was not the time to be winding back targeted support for households doing it toughest.
“ACT Shelter urges the Government to continue funding this critical program beyond June to prevent more Canberrans from slipping into housing insecurity and homelessness,” she said.
Woden Community Service CEO Dan English said the availability of this short-term financial relief had significantly reduced stress for clients, allowing them to focus on the underlying causes of their housing instability.
“At least 60 per cent of the Tenancy Assistance Program’s clients renting privately have accessed the Rent Relief Fund,” he said.
“This support has consistently led to quicker and more sustainable outcomes, allowing clients to participate more fully in our program and build the skills needed to move forward independently.”
Mr English said that while the Tenancy Assistance Program continued to deliver effective wraparound support, the absence of the Rent Relief Fund would reduce the speed and flexibility with which WCS could stabilise housing for clients.
Independent MLA Thomas Emerson said the government should extend the Rent Relief Fund into 2025-26 as part of next week’s Budget, suggesting that the vulnerable would be paying for the government’s own Budget failings.
“Discontinuing this program is short-sighted and morally questionable,” he said.
“People struggling to pay rent should not be the ones forced to foot the bill for the government’s budget problems.
“Cutting costs by withdrawing crisis support will only increase costs downstream, exerting further pressure on already-drowning housing and homelessness services.”
Asked about the Rent Relief Fund on Monday (16 June), Homes and New Suburbs Minister Yvette Berry said the government was building more homes for families in need, such as 5000 affordable public and community housing across the city.
“Increasing supply is one part of solving the problem, and that’s what the ACT Government’s committed to,” she said.
Ms Berry also pointed to the number of programs in place to support people in need, including energy bill rebates and education grants.
The orgnisations calling for the Fund to be retained are ACT Shelter, ACT Council of Social Service, Australian Red Cross, Better Renting, Canberra Community Law, Care, CIT Student Association, Companion House, Council on the Ageing (COTA) ACT, Domestic Violence Crisis Service (DVCS), Legal Aid ACT, Migrant and Refugee Settlement Services (MARSS), Multicultural Hub Canberra, St John’s Care, St Vincent de Paul Society Canberra/Goulburn, Woden Community Service and YWCA Canberra.
