The Illawarra Women’s Health Centre has joined growing calls for urgent housing reform, warning the region’s affordability crisis is deepening gender inequality and putting women’s safety at risk.
Across the Illawarra, rising rents and limited housing supply are forcing more women into housing stress, with many spending well over 30 per cent of their income just to keep a roof over their heads. For those already facing financial disadvantage, particularly single mothers, older women and young women, the situation is becoming untenable.
Illawarra Women’s Health Centre General Manager Jess Davidson said the housing crisis is not just an economic issue, but a gendered one.
“Housing insecurity is one of the most pressing issues facing women in the Illawarra right now. We are seeing more women forced into impossible situations, choosing between unsafe housing, financial stress or homelessness.”
Ms Davidson said the crisis reflects broader structural inequality, including the gender pay gap, insecure work and unpaid care responsibilities, which leave women less able to absorb rising housing costs.
The Centre is backing national advocacy efforts, including those outlined in the YWCA’s Safe Homes, Equal Futures Policy Platform, which highlights how Australia’s housing system continues to disadvantage women and gender-diverse people.
YWCA Australia is calling for more social and affordable housing, stronger renter protections and sustained investment in support services, with a focus on income-based affordability and gender-responsive policy that prioritises women most at risk. It also urges governments to treat housing as essential infrastructure, linking supply with support to improve safety, stability and economic participation.
In the Illawarra, housing pressures are compounded by low vacancy rates and a shortage of social and affordable housing. Women escaping domestic and family violence, the leading cause of homelessness, are particularly affected, often unable to access safe, long-term housing.
The Illawarra Women’s Health Centre is also expanding its frontline response, having been awarded $200,000 by Bendigo Bank Oak Flats and Gerringong to support women experiencing or at risk of homelessness, particularly due to domestic and family violence.
The funding will provide immediate financial assistance for women in crisis, alongside dedicated outreach casework and access to early intervention and prevention workshops focused on domestic and family violence.
Ms Davidson said these investments are critical, but warned they cannot replace systemic reform.
“Without safe and affordable housing, women can’t rebuild their lives. Housing is the foundation of safety, health and economic independence. Right now, too many women are being locked out of that foundation.”
The Centre is calling for a coordinated response that addresses women’s specific needs, including increased investment in social and affordable housing, stronger rental protections and better integration of housing with support services.
Ms Davidson said treating housing as essential infrastructure is key to addressing the crisis.
“If we’re serious about gender equality, we need to be serious about housing. That means designing a system that works for women, not against them.”