In the midst of Australia’s worst housing affordability crisis in decades, the federal government’s decision to increase Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA) by 9 percent in 2024 has emerged as a controversial yet critical lifeline for thousands of vulnerable renters across the nation.
The announcement, which followed months of advocacy from housing groups and community organizations, represents the largest single increase to rental support in over a decade.
But as renters continue to face skyrocketing costs, limited vacancy rates, and fierce competition for available properties, many are questioning whether this boost goes far enough to address the fundamental issues plaguing Australia’s rental market.
Walking through Marrickville in Sydney’s Inner West, 32-year-old healthcare worker Jessie Tran points to the row of weatherboard houses where rent has jumped by nearly 30 percent in the past two years.
“The extra assistance helps, but it’s like putting a bandaid on a broken leg,” she says, adjusting her workbag while waiting for her bus.
“I’m paying $620 a week for a one-bedroom unit now, and that’s after spending six months searching and applying for over 40 properties.
A 9 percent increase in assistance barely covers the increase from my last rent review, let alone the massive jumps we’ve seen since COVID.”
Jessie’s experience reflects the reality for millions of Australians navigating a rental market that has become increasingly hostile to tenants, particularly those in lower income brackets.
Understanding the 2024 Rent Assistance Boost
The Commonwealth Rent Assistance program has long served as Australia’s primary mechanism for supporting low-income renters in the private market.
Unlike public housing, which provides government-owned properties at subsidized rates, CRA operates as a supplementary payment to eligible Australians who receive certain Centrelink benefits and pay rent above specified thresholds.
Under the 2024 increase, maximum fortnightly payments have risen by 9 percent across all household categories.
For single people with no children, this translates to an increase from $157.20 to $171.30 per fortnight, while single parents with three or more children now receive up to $246.80, up from $226.40.
Couples with three or more children have seen their maximum payment rise from $246.40 to $268.60 per fortnight.
The boost follows a previous 15 percent increase implemented in September 2023, which marked the first significant rise in the payment in decades.
Together, these two increases represent a substantive policy shift after years of relative neglect of the CRA program.
Housing Minister Clare O’Neil characterized the boost as “an essential component of our broader housing affordability agenda” during the announcement in February.
“This increase will directly benefit approximately 1.4 million Australian households doing it tough in the rental market right now,” O’Neil stated.
“While we work on longer-term solutions to increase housing supply, this boost provides immediate relief to those facing rental stress across the country.”
The Rental Crisis Context
To understand the significance of the CRA increase, one must first appreciate the severity of Australia’s rental crisis.
Vacancy rates in major cities hit historic lows throughout 2023, with Sydney and Melbourne hovering around 1 percent, while regional areas and smaller capitals like Adelaide and Perth saw rates drop below 0.5 percent in some areas.
These tight conditions have created a landlord’s market, where prospective tenants often face intense competition and are forced to offer above asking price simply to secure housing.
Data from CoreLogic indicates that national rental prices increased by 8.3 percent in 2023, following a 10.2 percent increase in 2022—the steepest rises in Australian history.
In practical terms, these statistics translate to stories like that of Michael Woodson, a 45-year-old disability support pensioner from Brisbane’s northern suburbs.
“I’ve been in the same two-bedroom unit for seven years, but my landlord raised the rent by $120 a week last November,” Woodson explains from his kitchen table, surrounded by neatly organized medication containers.
“The CRA increase gives me about $27 extra per fortnight.
That doesn’t even cover a quarter of the increase.
Without my adult daughter moving back in to share costs, I would have been forced out.”
Expert Perspectives on the 9 Percent Boost
Housing economists and advocacy groups have offered mixed assessments of the government’s decision to boost rent assistance by 9 percent.
Professor Hal Pawson from UNSW’s City Futures Research Centre describes the increase as “necessary but wholly insufficient” given current market conditions.
“The fundamental issue is that CRA has been allowed to erode in real terms over many years,” Pawson explains.
“Even with the combined 2023 and 2024 increases, the payment still falls short of matching the extraordinary rent inflation we’ve witnessed.
More importantly, increasing payments without addressing supply constraints risks further inflating rents in an already overheated market.”
This concern about potential inflationary effects is echoed by some economists who warn that boosting income support without corresponding supply-side measures may simply drive up rental prices further as landlords capture the increased payment capacity of tenants.
However, Dr. Cassandra Goldie, CEO of the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS), dismisses these concerns as oversimplified.
“The idea that rent assistance simply flows through to landlords is not supported by rigorous evidence,” Goldie argues.
“In a market with such extreme supply constraints, rents are already at the maximum many landlords believe they can extract.
The CRA increase doesn’t change that ceiling—it simply reduces the gap between what vulnerable renters can afford and what they’re forced to pay to maintain housing.”
Kate Colvin, spokesperson for the Everybody’s Home campaign, points to the targeted nature of CRA as a strength of the program.
“Unlike broad tax concessions such as negative gearing, Commonwealth Rent Assistance is precisely targeted at those in genuine need,” Colvin notes.
“The 9 percent boost will make a meaningful difference to families facing impossible choices between paying rent and affording essentials like food, medication, or school supplies.
But we need to recognize this as just one tool in what must be a comprehensive approach to housing affordability.”
Real-world Impacts: Beyond the Percentages
For recipients like Taylor Nguyen, a 29-year-old single mother of two in Melbourne’s western suburbs, the 9 percent increase translates to approximately $40 extra per fortnight—meaningful but modest relief.
“Every dollar helps when you’re budgeting down to the last cent,” Nguyen says while supervising her children at a local playground.
“The extra CRA means I can keep the heating on longer during winter months or buy better quality groceries some weeks.
But it hasn’t fundamentally changed our housing situation.
We’re still in a one-bedroom apartment where the kids share the bedroom and I sleep in the living room.
And I’m still paying 45 percent of my income on rent.”
Stories like Nguyen’s highlight both the importance and limitations of the CRA program.
While the assistance provides crucial support that helps prevent homelessness and extreme hardship, it operates within a broader housing system that many experts describe as fundamentally broken.
For those ineligible for CRA—including many low-income workers who don’t receive qualifying Centrelink payments—the rental crisis continues unabated without any targeted support.
Emma Greenhalgh, CEO of National Shelter, points to this coverage gap as a critical flaw in Australia’s housing support framework.
“We have hard-working Australians in essential but low-paid jobs who receive no rental assistance whatsoever despite facing the same unaffordable market,” Greenhalgh explains.
“A comprehensive approach would consider extending support to all low-income renters, not just those receiving certain welfare payments.”
The Future of Rental Assistance in Australia
As Australia continues to grapple with its housing affordability crisis, the 9 percent boost to Commonwealth Rent Assistance represents an important but limited policy response.
Housing advocates are already calling for further increases, with some suggesting that CRA should be indexed to local rental markets rather than applying uniform payment rates across vastly different housing environments.
“Someone receiving the maximum CRA payment in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs faces dramatically different market conditions than someone receiving the same amount in regional Tasmania,” explains Dr. Michael Fotheringham, Managing Director of the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute.
“A more sophisticated approach would recognize these regional variations and provide support that reflects actual local rental costs.”
Others advocate for more fundamental reforms to the program, including extending eligibility to all low-income households and restructuring payment rates to better reflect household composition and needs.
Meanwhile, the federal government maintains that the CRA increase forms just one part of its broader housing strategy, which includes ambitious targets to build 1.2 million new homes over five years through the Housing Australia Future Fund and incentives for institutional investment in affordable rental housing.
“The rent assistance boost provides immediate relief while we implement longer-term solutions to increase housing supply,” Treasurer Jim Chalmers stated following the announcement.
“We recognize that addressing Australia’s housing crisis requires action on multiple fronts—supporting renters today while building the additional housing we desperately need for tomorrow.”
A Step Forward on a Long Journey
As Australia continues to navigate its complex housing challenges, the 9 percent increase to Commonwealth Rent Assistance in 2024 stands as a meaningful but modest step toward supporting vulnerable renters.
For recipients like Jessie, Michael, and Taylor, the boost provides welcome though limited relief in a rental market that remains fundamentally challenging.
Their experiences—echoed across kitchen tables, bus stops, and playgrounds throughout Australia—remind us that behind every housing statistic and policy announcement are real people making difficult choices and sacrifices to maintain a basic human need: a place to call home.
While debates about the adequacy and design of rental assistance will continue, few dispute the necessity of supporting low-income renters in what has become one of the most challenging housing markets in Australia’s history.
The true test of the 2024 CRA boost will not be found in economic models or policy papers, but in its ability to provide meaningful stability and relief to those Australians who find themselves most vulnerable in a housing system that continues to place basic rental accommodation beyond the reach of too many.
As Australia looks toward the future, the conversation about rental affordability and support must continue to evolve, recognizing that while assistance programs like CRA provide vital support, they must be complemented by bold, systemic changes to address the fundamental imbalances in our housing system.
Only then can we hope to create a future where housing security is not a luxury, but a reasonable expectation for all Australians regardless of income or circumstance.
Also Read –
Centrelink One-Off Payment March 2025 Full Details on Eligibility and Payment Schedule