Australian Centre for Housing Research

The Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA+) is the leading Australian indicator of remoteness. Developed by the Australian Centre for Housing Research, ARIA+ has become the standard for classifying the accessibility and remoteness of locations across the country, and is an objective geographic measure designed to quantify remoteness across Australia. ARIA+ is used in government and policy, research, and academia, and is used in the development of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Remoteness Areas, Australia’s official classification of national remoteness. ARIA+ is available to purchase through the Australian Centre for Housing Research. The product can be purchased by state/territory, or for the whole of Australia.

For more information about ARIA+, email achr@adelaide.edu.au

By assessing national and jurisdictional datasets on Indigenous households, housing providers and the workforce, the project evaluates data quality, coverage and cultural relevance. Its aims are to strengthen the evidence base for policy, uphold Indigenous data sovereignty, and support more effective housing planning and accountability. The project provides clear recommendations to improve data collection, access and linkage, ensuring future datasets capture housing conditions, experiences, aspirations and outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. 

Read the review.

Australia is considered by many to be a warm climate country. As a result, winter cold and its health effects are often overlooked, and yet there is increasing evidence that Australian homes are colder than many 'cold' countries. Living in a cold home can increase risk of high blood pressure, breathing difficulties, and mental health issues, especially for occupants who are aged or already affected by medical conditions. This project placed temperature sensors in 505 Australian homes to measure winter indoor temperatures, finding the majority of sampled homes (81%) were below the World Health Organisation’s Housing and Health guideline for minimum indoor temperature (18°C). This project challenges our understanding of the prevalence of cold housing in Australia context and has important implications for housing policy.

Access the dataset.

Housing impacts our lives in a multitude of ways, including our health, social and family lives, education, employment, and financial wellbeing. Currently, we don't have a lot of information about the nature of children's housing in Australia, or the role it plays in their health. Working with the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, this unsolicited data project seeks to address this gap by investigating existing evidence and data, and by developing a framework for comprehensive data collection and study of children and their homes.

This project addresses one of the most pressing challenges facing Australia today – the housing crisis. As we navigate the 21st century as a post-homeownership nation, this research will use international, quantitative, and qualitative analyses to deliver new insights and produce a roadmap that will support Australia in providing current and future generations with good housing outcomes – with or without home ownership. This research is funded by the Australian Research Council’s Discovery scheme in partnership with several universities.

The Australian housing system is rapidly evolving. Renting is now the fastest growing tenure in Australia, with more than one third of Australians now renting their homes. Housing quality and conditions are also highly variable, with issues such as cold, mould, and damp contributing to poor health outcomes for many Australians.

The 2024 dataset is the most recent release in the Australian Housing Conditions Data Infrastructure series. The 2024 Survey collected data from another 20,049 households across all states and territories, making it the biggest national survey collecting information about the quality and conditions of Australian homes. This data infrastructure provides the knowledge base and comparison sample for national and international to allow better urban, economic and social policy development. The 2024 dataset is now available to users through the Australian Data Archive.

Learn more about the project.