The ACT Housing Strategy is a ten-year framework, released in 2018, that sets out the goals, objectives and core elements of an integrated approach to housing in the ACT. The Draft ACT Housing Strategy: Implementation Plan Update proposes a revised implementation plan for the final three years of the Strategy. ACT Shelter’s submission responds to this Draft Plan in the context of an ongoing housing crisis and the need for a clear, ambitious and accountable roadmap to deliver improved housing outcomes.
While supporting the vision of the original Strategy, the submission raises significant concerns that the Draft Plan weakens existing commitments by reframing goals, removing objectives, and severing the links between goals, actions and measurable outcomes. ACT Shelter identifies gaps across social housing, homelessness, affordable rental housing, tenancy and occupancy protections, governance and data, and provides targeted recommendations to strengthen the final Plan. The submission calls for clearer goals, disaggregated targets, stronger system stewardship, meaningful engagement with a wider range of community stakeholders, and robust monitoring and reporting to ensure the Strategy delivers equitable and lasting housing outcomes for the ACT.