Housing as a right: where to now

On Human Rights Day 2024, the Commission examined housing as a human right, at a forum held at the National Gallery of Australia.

Commission President Dr Penelope Mathew facilitated the discussion held on 10 December 2024.

Panellists included Professor Kevin Bell AO KC, author of Housing: the Great Australian Right, Dr Devin Bowles, CEO, ACT Council of Social Services, Ms Genevieve Bolton OAM, Executive Director and Principal Solicitor, Canberra Community Law, Ms Rachael Clark, Solicitor and Program Manager, Dhurrawang Aboriginal Human Rights Program, Canberra Community Law and Mrs Kellie Jones, who has first-hand experience of homelessness and is an Orange Sky volunteer.

The forum examined key questions such as what is included in the human right to housing; how laws and policies could change to better protect the right to housing; and how including the right to adequate housing in the ACT Human Rights Act might help people into homes or improve the standard of their housing.

A recording of the event is available below.

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