Stuck in the Heat

This report explores the lived experiences of public housing tenants in the Kimberley during periods of extreme heat.

It is based on research conducted with public housing tenants and service providers in the region in 2021. It was compiled by Kimberley Community Legal Services (KCLS) an independent, not-for-profit community legal service providing free legal, financial counselling and tenancy services to financially disadvantaged people in the Kimberley.

Key Findings

The extreme heat in the Kimberley is felt more by public housing tenants who face many barriers to coping with heat. Tenants struggle to keep temperatures down in poor quality housing, are under financial pressure as they try to afford air conditioners and power bills and they feel the impacts of heat stress on daily health and wellbeing.

• The Kimberley region experiences extreme temperatures and high humidity dangerous to human health and wellbeing. Current projections indicate temperatures in the region will rise in the future.
• Poor quality public housing, maintenance issues and overcrowding due to low housing stock impacts the ability of public housing tenants to effectively control the temperature and energy efficiency of their homes.
• Public housing tenants in the Kimberley may experience energy poverty due to high energy prices and the use of inefficient cooling appliances.
• Current Housing Authority cooling policy tends to reinforce the financial disadvantage experienced by many public housing tenants in the Kimberley.

Why the Report?

The need for a project on housing standards was identified by the team at KCLS, who witness the poor housing standards tenants experience and the impact it has on them, particularly during extreme heat periods. To understand the issue better, KCLS & Kimberley Jiyigas spoke to tenants in the East Kimberley during the hottest months of 2021 about their experience of living in the extreme heat.

Report Link

Stuck in the Heat: Lived Experiences of Public Housing Tenants in the Kimberley here. View the summary snapshot here.