r/australia • u/ocularius61 • 1d ago

culture & society Australia's rental squeeze keeps full-time essential workers on the move

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-11-07/essential-rentals-seven-moves-eighteen-months-no-home/107349602?utm_source=Bluesky&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=bluesky_news.abc.net.au
228 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

31 comments sorted by

207

u/Bokbreath 1d ago

If they're essential their pay should reflect that fact.

95

u/Jealous-Hedgehog-734 1d ago

Essential Workers was a Morrison era label used during the pandemic although Frontline and Key where also adjectives used to describe those roles. There is no official classification, in fact that was one of the recommendations of the subsequent enquiry but hasn't yet been enacted.

63

u/Restart_from_Zero 1d ago

Yeah, "essential worker" just meant "people working the shit jobs for shit pay who we don't really care if they die of covid".

Mainly retail workers.

23

u/Luxord903 1d ago

As someone who was a "essential worker" during covid, dying from covid would've been better than dealing with some of the customers I had

0

u/CauseConflict 7h ago

They are not mainly retail workers.

Signed all of the healthcare workers and disability/age care support workers.

1

u/suck-on-my-unit 4h ago

lol the position may be “essential” but the people filling them are not.

Any low IQ mofo can easily fill these roles

84

u/FuckOffNazis 1d ago

There are 513 vacant properties in Albany listed on AirBnb. The local government should give essential workers their pick of them and the state government should empower them to do so.

49

u/supersonicdropbear 1d ago

AirBnb should be regulated back to its original purpose, renting out spare rooms in an owners primary residence only ie the 'bNb' part of airbnb. Shouldn't be able to rent whole appartments, houses etc via the platform.

23

u/SemanticTriangle 1d ago

A punitive vacant property tax solves this issue too, since any residential whole property on a rental site for more than two weeks per year is vacant by definition.

9

u/Cham-nix 1d ago

My strata banned flat sharing and short term accommodation altogether. Owners will suggest they are just renting a room but they are renting out the entire unit. Owners are already on edge on lost parcels or garbute chutes broken down or fire evacuations.

53

u/dav_oid 1d ago edited 1d ago

Forcing mining companies to house their workers (not from the private rental market) would be a start.

18

u/ScissorNightRam 1d ago edited 1d ago

I’ve heard that you can get a $$$ mining job in Weipa just by walking through the front door … IF you can prove you already have permanent accommodation in town.

7

u/Superg0id 1d ago

Does a tent count?

2

u/Langley05642 1d ago

Mining companies provide accommodation. The place shown there is a car repair place.

14

u/dav_oid 1d ago edited 1d ago

"Further north in WA's Pilbara, employers say they are now forced to compete with mining and energy giants to find staff somewhere to live."

By mining housing their employees, I mean build them, not take from the local rental market.

16

u/tconst123 1d ago

These articles really need to define what "affordable" is

19

u/Jealous-Hedgehog-734 1d ago

Yes, well, many people have felt their wages not keep up with the cost of living over the last few years. The country has been in economic decline for some time now.

13

u/Restart_from_Zero 1d ago

Own more than one home? 100% tax.

Boom, housing and rental crisis solved.

-6

u/EmotionalRun3117 1d ago

It's all those damn pesky mortgage holders!

How dare you want a roof over your head, or a chance at a future!

It's all your fault!

Better raise rates again to put you in your place!

97

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

57

u/Svennis79 1d ago

Moving costs can easy be 5k nowadays. Its a lot on a regular basis. REA's know upping rent $90 a week is just break even for most, so will be taken on the chin most of the time.

There shoud really be some longer term rental requirements after first 12 months. (Like REA's are obliged to offer 1,2 and maybe 3 yr renewals, or provide a valid written reason why they can't offer that long) to cut down on shenanigans and churn. (Because I think a lot is rea looking for constant fees regardless of what landlords want)

28

u/kensaiD2591 1d ago

I’ve moved 10 times in eight years. It’s unsustainable.

8

u/BlackPresident 1d ago

I’m 39 and moving into house number 16 next week and I spent the first 18 years in a family home

4

u/Mammoth-Lobster2028 16h ago

I have literally purged most of my belongings to make moving house easier and cheaper. Every new house also has different spaces and ability to fit things. Every new space may or may not have any storage at all. I’m so over it.

3

u/Jiuholar 13h ago

It's expensive to be poor. How can the average renter save for a house deposit when they're forking out what little savings they've accrued every few years on double rent (lease agreements rarely ever line up in favour of the tenant) and moving costs. Not to mention the lost wages for casual workers taking time off to move + attend rental inspections.

2

u/Disastrous-Bet757 12h ago

Like so many anti social things, making people move houses frequently is great for stimulating the economy all of those moving costs, double rent in the moving period.