In recent years, social housing has undergone significant transformation, characterised by increased targeting, the expansion of community housing and the reform of allocation processes. These changes have been shaped by social housing operational policies and the wider Australian housing context, which affect the housing pathways of tenants and their households.

Housing pathways are the housing experiences of tenants and their households over time and space. They are not necessarily linear and may refer to changes in tenure, household form, experiences and attachment. The impact of formal policy on these pathways is not well understood.

This report forms the first and foundational part of the AHURI Inquiry into understanding and reimagining social housing pathways. It focuses on understanding how social housing pathways are conceptualised and constructed by operational housing policies in Australia.

In recent years, social housing has undergone significant transformation, characterised by increased targeting, the expansion of community housing and the reform of allocation processes. These changes have been shaped by social housing operational policies and the wider Australian housing context, which affect the housing pathways of tenants and their households.

Importantly, the context, boundaries, feedback loops and levers influencing social housing pathways occur within a broader landscape of human services and private sector interests, not only within the social housing system.