Housing and Older Immigrants in Australia: Issues for the 21st Century

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1 Housing and Older Immigrants in Australia: Issues for the 21st Century Andrew Beer and Debbie Faulkner Centre for Housing, Urban and Regional Planning, University of Adelaide, 2 nd International Conference on Ageing in a Foreign Land

2 Housing Careers Housing careers The sequence of housing a person passes through during their life time For immigrants Those who settle in Australia from English speaking nations such as New Zealand, UK or the United States are likely to have housing, family and labour market careers that are very similar to those of the Australia-born population. Immigrants from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds (CALD) are more likely to experience housing careers that diverge from the Australian norms.

3 Housing Careers Change Over Time $ $ Family formation Children leave home Retirement Income Expenditure Divorce Inheritance Providing care Being cared for Income Expenditure Renting Home Purchase Outright Ownership Industrial Australia Aged Care Age Renting Home Purch. Renting Home Purchase Outright Ownership Post Industrial Australia Living in Aged Unit Age

4 Housing Careers Change Over Time And what are the dimensions of housing careers that change for immigrants relative to the general population? Source of immigrants country of birth Language competencies Propensity to return to birth country Household structure Success within the Australian labour market and housing market Geographic distribution Family relationships and cultural preferences for ageing

5 The Housing 21 Survey Country/Region Number Per cent UK and Ireland New Zealand Germany Netherlands Italy Malaysia India Malta Singapore Greece South Africa Other Total Source: Housing 21 Survey

6 Decade of Arrival in Australia of Persons Born Overseas 4 35 Per cent Europe UK and Ireland Asia New Zealand Other before 195s 195s 196s 197s 198s 199s Post 2 Decade of Arrival

7 Household Type by Selected Birthplace Groups 6 Per cent Single person household Couple only household Family household Sole parent household Group household of unrelated people Australia Europe UK and Ireland Asia New Zealand Household Type

8 Tenure Status of Immigrants Australian Born Mainly English speaking born Non English speaking born 35 Per cent Paying a mortgage Outright ownership Renting (or pay board) Tenure Other

9 Decade of Arrival in Australia of Immigrants from Mainly English Speaking and Non English Speaking Countries by Tenure Per cent Mainly English Speaking Paying mortgage Mainly English Speaking Outright owner Mainly English Speaking Renting Per cent Mainly Non English Speaking Paying mortgage Mainly Non English Speaking Outright owner Mainly Non English Speaking Renting 1 1 Prior to 196s 196s 197s 198s 199s Post 2 Decade of Arrival in Australia Prior to 196s 196s 197s 198s 199s Post 2 Decade of Arrival in Australia

10 Tenure Although slightly fewer migrants from non English speaking countries were outright owners at the time of the survey (73 per cent), many more (19 per cent) were mortgage holders. These data suggest that 92 per cent of migrants from non English speaking backgrounds would become outright owners compared with 84 per cent of persons from mainly English speaking backgrounds. A small proportion of migrants appear to have remained in rental accommodation.

11 Tenure In the 199s and since the year 2 it has become increasingly difficult for people from non English speaking backgrounds to enter the home ownership market. At the time of the survey only 27.3 per cent of persons who arrived in Australia in the 199s from a non English speaking background were paying a mortgage and only 18 per cent were outright owners. This compares to 54.8 per cent of persons who arrived in the 199s from a mainly English speaking country who were paying a mortgage and another 29 per cent who were outright owners. The situation is even more stark for those who recently arrived, post 2, with 87.5 per cent of those persons from non English speaking backgrounds reliant on rental housing. Tenants from CALD and mainly English speaking backgrounds reported they remained in rental housing because of cost barriers: either the difficulty of saving a deposit or the inability to afford mortgage payments. In fact 45.6 per cent had not been able to save a deposit while an additional 21.1 per cent believed they could not afford the repayments on a mortgage. An additional 8.9 per cent stated they were recent migrants and therefore renting was a first option. The availability of rental assistance had provided an incentive to around one quarter of tenants to remain in private rental housing.

12 Landlord Type by Main Birthplace Grouping Per cent Real Estate Agent Other Private Public Australia Mainly English speaking Non English speaking Birthplace Groups

13 Public Housing The public housing sector is largely occupied by the Australia-born and the UK and Ireland-born. 16 % respondents from CALD backgrounds were living in public rental housing at the time of the survey compared to 23 per cent of the Australia born and nearly 28 per cent of those born in English speaking countries. Only a very small number of immigrants in the private rental sector at the time of the survey had their name on a waiting list for public housing, 1.5 per cent of those persons from CALD backgrounds and nearly 14 per cent of those from mainly English speaking backgrounds. In the past, public housing has been important for particular non- English speaking groups such as the Egypt-born and the Turkey-born, the Vietnamborn and Cambodia-born, the Chile-born and the Poland-born (Hassell and Hugo 1996) and for refugee and humanitarian arrivals (Beer and Cutler 1999). Demands upon public housing may grow if the barriers to entry to home purchase increase.

14 Importance of Home Ownership to Tenants who Immigrated to Australia 6 5 Mainly English Speaking Mainly Non English Speaking 4 Per cent Very Important Important Somewhat Important Importance of Home Ownership Of little Importance Unimportant

15 Level of Concern About Affordability of Home Ownership Amongst Immigrants to Australia Per cent Very Concerned Concerned Somewhat Concerned Level of Concern Not at all Concerned

16 Ageing of the Overseas Born 211 Census % Born Overseas % of Total Population years years years years years years years years years years years years years years years years years years years years years and over

17 Tenure and Marital Statue in Older Age Per cent Mortgage Outright Owner Renting Other Mortgage Outright Owner Renting Other Mortgage Outright Owner and over Tenure and Age Renting Other Married/partner Separated/divorced Widowed Never married Marriage is the most significant factor associated with home ownership. Data from the Housing 21 survey supports this for the older age groups: For all age groups, those married or living with a partner were more likely to be a home owner than for other marital status groups. For those aged who were separated or divorced only around one half had been able to obtain outright ownership at the time of the survey. 26 per cent of those aged and 18 per cent aged were paying a mortgage suggesting that outright ownership may have been delayed due to partnership break-up. At ages 75 years and over people who were separated or divorced were either outright home owners or reliant on the rental market. Rental accommodation is important at any age for those separated or divorced.

18 Ageing and Older Immigrants in the 21 st Century Historically buffered by their tenure Future generations of older immigrants will have had lower levels of access to home ownership earlier in life And potentially higher rates of divorce/separation Resulting in lower levels of home ownership in older age There will also be higher rates of reliance on private rental housing This may drive a return to the country of origin in later life Greater diversity of birthplace groups means greater diversity in housing outcomes in older age Poor access to public rental housing in earlier life means few older immigrants will age in this tenure

19 Ageing and Older Immigrants in the 21 st Century The peaks in the ageing of the immigrant population are yet to come And may well be acute There will be an interaction between the housing of the immigrant population and the introduction of Consumer Directed Care Which may well be different to the total population, but remains an unknown May see the demise of nursing homes specifically for older immigrant groups Or not A major question remains over the strength of immigrant communities in the ageing of older immigrants in the 21 st Century And some of these are questions that can only be answered via further research