Summary Report - pdf - Department of Families, Housing ...

HousingHousing affects children’s lives and development in manyways. Children living in inadequate or overcrowdedhousing are more likely to contract infectious diseases suchas meningitis and respiratory conditions (Harker 2006) orsuffer ill effects from toxicants that may continue well intoadulthood (Dockery et al. 2010). Cramped or substandardliving conditions can also affect mental health, createdomestic tensions and increase the incidence of familyviolence. A lack of sufficient space for learning, relaxationand sleep and a lack of opportunities for outdoorplay may negatively impact on the child’s physicaldevelopment and education. Finally, frequent residentialmoves and especially homelessness can contribute toworse health and educational outcomes, decreasedsocial connectedness and stress for children and theirfamilies (Dockery et al., 2010).The housing conditions of many Aboriginal and TorresStrait Islander people, although improving, are still belowthe standard of those enjoyed by most people in non-Indigenous communities (ABS 2008). In 2008, 31 per centof Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and youthlived in overcrowded housing and, in remote areas thisproportion was even higher, at 58 per cent (ABS 2011c).In 2008, Indigenous people were almost five times aslikely as non-Indigenous people to live in overcrowdedhousing (SCRGSP 2011). Moreover, many of those wholived in a permanent dwelling experienced problemswith the condition of their home: one-third of dwellingsmanaged by Indigenous housing organisations in remotecommunities needed either major repairs (24 per cent) orreplacement (9 per cent) (ABS 2008).While the association between housing conditions andchild outcomes has not been investigated directly in thisreport, this could be done with further analysis of the data.Also, as future waves of data become available, they willcontribute to fuller understanding of the role housing playsin children’s outcomes, that is, whether poor conditions inearly or late childhood, or only if prolonged, affect a child’sphysical and/or educational development.Most of the Footprints in Time children (around 90 per centin wave 3) lived in free-standing houses. The remaining10 per cent were divided almost equally between semidetachedhouses and apartments or flats. However, thetype of the dwelling was related to relative isolation:97.0 per cent of children in highly or extremely isolatedareas lived in free-standing houses, as opposed to87.3 per cent in areas of no isolation.Most children (61.0 per cent) lived in three-bedroomhomes a further 24.0 percent in four-bedroom homes. Theproportion of children living in one or two-bedroom homestended to increase with relative isolation: 19.2 per cent ofrespondents in highly or extremely remote areas lived insuch homes compared to only 8.3 per cent of respondentsin non-isolated areas.Any home can be viewed as big or small, dependingon the size of the family living there. Table 21 reportsthe numbers of people per bedroom living in thehouse, broken down by LORI. Although more than halfof respondents lived in houses with one or two peopleper bedroom, the situations where more than two ormore than three people shared a bedroom were morecommon in areas with higher relative isolation. Accordingto the Canadian National Occupancy Standard, aninternationally accepted tool used by the ABS to measurethe need for additional bedrooms in order to adequatelyhouse the occupants, room-sharing by more than twopeople is considered a sign of overcrowding 12 .Table 21: Number of people per bedroom by LORI, per centLORIPeople per bedroomNone (urban) Low Moderate High/extreme All locations1 or fewer 26.2 23.5 17.7 9.9 22.1> 1 to 2 68.2 63.1 55.9 47.5 61.9> 2 to 3 4.8 11.8 21.0 29.8 13.0> 3 0.8 1.6 5.4 12.8 3.0Total respondents 374 694 186 141 1,39512 It is not possible to fully apply the standard to the Footprints in Time data, since it requires data on the marital status of all adult occupants of thedwelling which is currently available for the primary carer only.Footprints in Time: The Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children | Key Summary Report from Wave 333