A report released in January by the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) titled ‘Funding and Financing Energy Performance and Climate Resilient Retro-fits for Low Income Housing’ has called for the prioritisation of the rapid rollout of sustainable upgrades to low-income housing and singled out one-stop shops such as Brighte as necessary to achieve this.
ACOSS argues this task requires significant government and market support given the roughly 8 million homes, including approximately 1.8 million low-income households needing some form of retrofit before 2035 to achieve emissions reduction and climate-resilience goals.
ACOSS surmises in the report:
Home retrofits result in multiple benefits to governments, people, and communities. They provide a low-cost mechanism to achieve Australia’s emissions reduction targets; create homes that are affordable to run, healthy, safe and climate-resilient; help reduce cost of living pressures; create jobs; and improve energy security and reliability.
The report also confirmed prioritising low-income housing derives additional benefits, including reducing financial hardship, poverty, and inequality; and providing savings to governments across a range of portfolios.
The report recommends 14 policy measures across federal, state and territory governments to achieve the above, including the involvement of one-stop-shops to drive energy performance and climate resilience retrofits for low-income housing. Brighte was highlighted in the report as a provider that could assist in the administration of program rollouts like what it does for the ACT Sustainable Homes Scheme.
To access the report click here.