Essential workers squeezed out of regional WA rentals, study finds

Essential workers in regional Western Australia are being squeezed out of the private rental market, as a new Anglicare snapshot shows only one affordable property for key health and childcare staff across the Great Southern and South West regions.

Albany Housing

Frances Thiele, a 61‑year‑old disability support worker, has moved seven times in the past 18 months while trying to secure a rental in Albany, about 450 km south of Perth. She says the cheapest one‑person unit she could find cost $500 a week, roughly half of her weekly wages. To stay within budget she now shares a house and pays $850 a week with a housemate. Despite working full‑time, she notes her job does not generate high income. Anglicare’s rental‑affordability snapshot found that in the two most populous regions of WA, just one rental property met the budget limits for critical employees in health and childcare.

Pilbara Workshop

Further north, Clark Smith runs a small mechanical workshop in Karratha, 1,530 km north of Perth. He says the shortage of staff housing forces him to house workers in mates’ homes, caravans, or cramped staff houses, which he describes as unhealthy. Over five years he lived in ten different houses and even spent months in a van without air‑conditioning. Smith cannot match the housing and car benefits offered by mining and energy giants, leaving him unable to expand his business despite a backlog of work.

Context

Western Australia’s rent inflation has hit record levels, putting essential workers and small‑business owners under pressure as affordable homes become scarce. This forces staff to accept shared or makeshift accommodation, widening the gap between labour needs and available housing.