QCOSS leads the Town of Nowhere campaign advocating for change to end the housing crisis in Queensland and is a partner of the national Everybody’s Home campaign. In March 2023, QCOSS, Tenants Queensland and The Services Union, along with the Town of Nowhere campaign partners, commissioned the report ‘A blueprint to tackle Queensland’s housing crisis’ (The Pawson Report), which clearly outlines the unprecedented housing crisis in Queensland.

Approximately 150,000 households in Queensland have an unmet need for affordable housing, and more than 100,000 of those households are eligible for social housing based on income. As of 30 June 2023, over 25,300 households were waiting for housing on the Queensland social housing register; most of these households have been assessed as having a high or very high need for housing. There is a need for immediate action and an ambitious and comprehensive long-term plan to end the housing crisis in Queensland and across Australia. Without long-term planning and government intervention, the housing crisis will worsen, and many people in Queensland will not have access to affordable, safe and secure housing.

QCOSS welcomes amendments to the Planning Act 2017 to include a state-facilitated application process to streamline the assessment of development applications to the extent that it will accelerate the delivery of social and affordable housing.