The Housing and Homelessness Research Program (HHRP) has a national and international reputation for innovative, policy-relevant research.

Drawing on different disciplinary perspectives including sociology, economics, social work, and political economy, our researchers apply a range of methodologies – from in-depth qualitative work to modelling longitudinal datasets – to generate evidence to inform policy and practice reform.

Many of our researchers are former practitioners and draw on their substantial knowledge of policy and service delivery environments to deliver high quality research that is relevant, grounded and accessible.

Key research interests

• Health and well-being of disadvantaged populations
• Program and service evaluation – social and economic impacts
• Policy analysis
• Homelessness and housing market dynamics
• Gender
• Stigma
• Drug Use
• Homelessness enumeration
• Homeless groups – young people, chronically homeless, women and families

RMIT and UNISON Research Partnership

An important part of the Urban Housing and Homelessness Research Program is the Unison Housing Research Lab, a five year partnership between RMIT University and Unison Housing. The partnership takes a unique industry-led approach to address the ongoing issue of housing and homelessness. The program is the largest of its kind in Australia and houses a team of six dedicated research staff who pursue a program of applied research tailored to support the needs of Unison Housing.

Read more about the Unison Housing Research Lab.

Recent Publications

2018

Books

Watson, J. Young Women, Youth Homelessness and Survival Sex: Intimate Relationships and Gendered Subjectivities (2018), Routledge: London and New York.

2017

Journal Articles

Casey, S. & Watson, J. (2017) The Unpalatable-Palatable: Celebrity Feminism in the Australian Mainstream Media, Outskirts, 37.

Chamberlain, C., & Johnson, G. (2017). ‘Counting rough sleepers’, in Parity, 30 (3).

Cigdem, M.,Ong, R.,Wood, G. (2017). A new look at the channels from housing to employment decisions In: AHURI Final Report, 275, 1 – 68

Hurley, J.,Wood, G.,Groenhart, L. (2017). Long run urban analysis using property records: A methodological case study of land use change In: Urban Studies, , 1 – 16

Johnson, G. & Horn, M. (2017). ‘Last resort housing: What can it achieve and would it really save money’, in Parity 30(3).

Johnson, G., & Pleace, N. (2017) ‘The Homelessness Outcomes Star: A brief response to criticism of our paper’, in European Journal of Homelessness, 11(1) pp. 1-3.

Johnson, G.,Watson, J. (2017). International commentary: The implications of the family options study for family homelessness in Australia In: CityScape: A Journal of Policy Development and Research, 19, 215 – 221

Kertesz, S.,Johnson, G. (2017). Housing first: lessons from the US and challenges for Australia In: Australian Economic Review, 50, 220 – 228

O’flaherty, B.,Scutella, R.,Tseng, Y. (2017). Using Private Information to Predict Homelessness Entries: Evidence and Prospects In: Housing Policy Debate, , 1 – 25

Ong, R.,Dalton, T.,Gurran, N.,Phelps, C.,Rowley, S.,Wood, G. (2017). Housing supply responsiveness in Australia: distribution, drivers and institutional settings In: AHURI Final Report, , 1 – 5

Jefferson, T.,Austen, S.,Ong, R.,Haffner, M.,Wood, G. (2017). Housing Equity Withdrawal: Perceptions of Obstacles among Older Australian Home Owners and associated Service Providers In: Journal of Social Policy, 46, 623 – 642

Scutella, R.,Johnson, G. (2017). Psychological distress and homeless duration In: Housing Studies, , 1 – 22

Scutella, R.,Tseng, Y.,Wooden, M. (2017). Journeys Home: Tracking the most vulnerable In: Longitudinal and Life Course Studies, 8, 302 – 318

Smith, S.,Cigdem, M.,Ong, R.,Wood, G. (2017). Wellbeing at the edges of ownership In: Environment and Planning A, 49, 1080 – 1098

Watson, J. & Cuervo, H. (2017) Youth Homelessness: A Social Justice Approach, Journal of Sociology, 53(2), pp. 461-475. DOI: 10.1177/144078331770520

Wood, G.,Ong, R. (2017). The Australian Housing System: A Quiet Revolution? In: Australian Economic Review, 50, 197 – 204

Commissioned Reports

Johnson, G. & Watson, J. (2017). Does place matter? Unison Housing. Melbourne

Murray, S., Bullen, J., Watson, J. & Theobald, J. (2017) Profiling Women and Children Experiencing Family Violence who Require a Crisis Supported Response. Department of Health and Human Services, Victorian Government.

Other

Casey, S., Simic, Z. & Watson, J. (2017) Feminism: more than sartorial statements, Victorian Women’s Trust, 7/3/2017

Johnson, G., Ribar, D. & Zhu, A. (2017) ‘Women’s Homelessness: International Evidence on Causes, Consequences, Coping and Policies’ Melbourne Institute Working Paper No 7/17. The University of Melbourne: Melbourne.

Perusco, M. & Johnson, G. (2017). The Federal Budget 2017: Housing and Homelessness. ProBono News, May 10.

Watson, J. & Johnson, G. (2017) ‘Mixing Academia and Industry to Solve “Intractable” Problems: The Unison Housing Research Lab’, Parity/HousingWorks, 30(7), pp. 7-8.   

2016

Book Chapters

Johnson, G.,Grigg, S.,Tseng, Y. (2016). Using a randomised controlled to evaluate an innovative homelessness intervention: the J2SI pilot In: Creating and Implementing Public Policy, Routledge, United Kingdom

Commissioned Reports

Johnson, Gb,Cook, K.,Sesa, S. (2016). Engaging young people: Using the pathways young people take in and out of homelessness as the foundation for a person centred service culture In: Melbourne City Mission Melbourne, Australia

Rowe, J.,Harris, L. (2016). ‘Get up, stand up!’ – giving people the means to respond to opioid overdose In: The Salvation Army Melbourne Australia

Journal Articles

Cobb-Clark, D.,Herault, N.,Scutella, R.,Tseng, Y. (2016). A journey home: What drives how long people are homeless? In: Journal of Urban Economics, 91, 57 – 72

Herault, N.,Johnson, G. (2016). Homelessness in Australia: Service reform and research in the 21st century In: European Journal of Homelessness, 10, 127 – 144

Johnson, G.,Pleace, N. (2016). How do we measure success in homelessness services? Critically Assessing the rise of the outcomes star In: European Journal of Homelessness, 10, 31 – 51

Johnson, G., Cook, K. & Sesa, S. (2016) Dealing with diversity: Understanding young people’s entry into and experiences of the homelessness system. Melbourne City Mission, Melbourne.

Watson, J. (2016), Gender-based Violence and Young Homeless Women: Femininity, Embodiment and Vicarious Physical Capital, The Sociological Review, 64: 256–273. DOI: 10.1111/1467-954X.12365

Wood, G.,Ong, R.,Cigdem, M. (2016). Housing tax reform: Is there a way forward? In: Economic Papers: A journal of applied economics and policy, 35, 332 – 346

Wood, G.,Sommervoll, D.,De Silva, A. (2016). Do urban house prices converge? In: Urban Policy and Research , 34, 102 – 115