Australian landlords would be expected to offer tenants two-year leases as the standard rental arrangement under a union push for stronger renter protections and a fivefold increase in the rate of public housing construction.
The ACTU will take the proposals to the federal government on Wednesday, calling for National Cabinet to expand its existing national agreement on renters’ rights and require landlords to offer at least two years of housing security by default.
Renters would retain the option of taking a shorter lease.
The union movement also wants one in every 10 new homes built in Australia to be public housing, compared with what it says is about one in 50 today, alongside a longer-term target for public housing to account for at least 6 per cent of the country’s housing stock.
The demands shift the ACTU’s housing campaign towards renters and government-owned housing following changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions for property investors.
ACTU president Michele O’Neil said housing insecurity was increasingly affecting workers who could not afford to live near their workplaces.
“For too many working people, housing has become a source of stress rather than security, with many workers not able to find secure, affordable housing near where they work. We want to see strong rights for renters and a substantial increase in public housing,” O’Neil said.
The proposal would seek to extend the Better Deal for Renters struck by National Cabinet in 2023. That agreement committed the Commonwealth, states and territories to work towards nationally consistent rules requiring reasonable grounds for eviction, protections against retaliatory eviction notices, limits on rent increases and minimum rental standards.
The ACTU wants the agreement to go further by establishing two years as the standard lease offered to tenants and strengthening protections against what it describes as unfair evictions and rent gouging.
The ACTU wants the agreement to go further by establishing two years as the standard lease offered to tenants and strengthening protections against what it describes as unfair evictions and rent gouging
“Nurses, teachers and other workers are living with the yearly uncertainty that comes with constant rent hikes and one-year leases being the standard option,” O’Neil said.
“Our housing system should reflect the reality that millions of working people are renters. Workers deserve not only secure jobs, but also secure housing. Unions want to see renters with stronger rights, better protections against evictions and more secure leases.”
Rental laws remain largely a state and territory responsibility, meaning any national standard would require agreement between governments and changes to tenancy rules across jurisdictions.
O’Neil said longer leases could reduce the financial and personal disruption associated with repeatedly moving between rental properties.
“Moving homes costs money, disrupts lives, and too often pushes workers further away from their jobs. Doubling the default rental standard from one to two years would still allow renters to choose shorter leases, but it would give workers more certainty and stability to plan their lives.”
The second part of the ACTU proposal would require a much larger government role in housing construction.
The union movement wants public housing to account for one in 10 newly built homes, a rate it says was achieved under the Hawke government, compared with about one in 50 new homes today.
The demand comes after a long decline in public housing as a proportion of Australia’s housing system. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare figures show there were about 297,000 public housing dwellings in June 2025, down from 341,000 in 2006.
Community housing has expanded considerably over the same period, rising from about 30,100 dwellings in 2006 to 118,000 in 2025. Across public, community and Indigenous housing programs, Australia had about 452,000 social housing dwellings in June 2025.
But population and household growth have outpaced that expansion. Social housing accommodated about 4 per cent of Australian households in 2025, down from 4.8 per cent in 2011.
“Australia once built public housing at a scale that matched working people’s needs. Under the Hawke Government, 1 in 10 new homes built were public housing, but today that’s closer to 1 in 50. If we’re serious about fixing the housing crisis, we must increase public housing stock to free up homes in the private rental market and make renting more affordable for everyone,” O’Neil said.
Achieving the target would require governments to increase construction at a time when Australia is already struggling to build enough homes to meet its existing housing commitments.
The National Housing Accord set a target of 1.2 million new homes over five years from July 2024, but construction has been hampered by building costs, labour shortages and delays in bringing approved developments to market.
The ACTU argues greater use of prefabrication could help increase supply. “Using modern construction methods such as factory-built modular housing can deliver high-quality homes faster at lower cost and greater scale,” O’Neil said.
The proposal would also mark a shift towards direct government ownership of a larger proportion of Australia’s housing stock rather than relying primarily on incentives for private development and the community housing sector.
“Governments must all step up and tackle Australia’s housing crisis with the ambition it needs. We need more homes, stronger rights for renters, faster construction and renewed investment in public housing,” O’Neil said.
Whether governments agree to the two-year rental standard will ultimately depend on the states and territories, while meeting the public housing target would require substantially higher construction and funding commitments across jurisdictions.
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