Publisher/s
Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute Limited Melbourne, Australia
Publication Date
23 August 2021
Author
Chris Martin, Rebecca Reeve, Ruth McCausland, Eileen Baldry, Pat Burton, Rob White, Stuart Thomas,

Imprisonment in Australia is growing and ex-prisoner housing need is growing; but at the same time, housing assistance capacity is declining.
• Without real options and resources, prisoner pre-release planning for accommodation is often last-minute.
Insecure temporary accommodation is stressful and diverts ex-prisoners and agencies from addressing other needs, undermining desistance from offending.
• Ex-prisoners with complex support needs who receive public housing have better criminal justice outcomes than comparable ex-prisoners who receive private rental assistance only.
Public housing ‘flattens the curve’ of average predicted police incidents (down 8.9% per year), time in custody (down 11.2% per year), justice system costs per person (down $4,996 initially, then a further $2,040 per year), and other measures.
• In dollar terms, housing an ex-prisoner in a public housing tenancy generates, after five years, a net benefit of between $5,200 and $35,000, relative to the cost of providing them with assistance in private rental and/or through homelessness services.
• The evidence strongly supports the need for much greater provision of social housing to people exiting prison, particularly for those with complex support needs

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