WA raises social housing income limits for tenth time since 2020 to protect pensioners
Western Australia lifts weekly social housing income thresholds by $17 for singles and $26 for couples, the tenth rise since 2020, as Housing Minister John Carey says the change keeps Age, Disability and Carer payment recipients eligible for public and community housing.
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Western Australia has increased the income limits that determine who can stay in social housing, the tenth such rise since 2020, as the Cook Labor Government moves to ensure people living on Commonwealth pensions and payments do not lose eligibility when those benefits are indexed. The weekly thresholds have gone up by $17 for single‑income households and $26 for dual‑income households, with different rates still applying for tenants in the North West and remote areas and for people living with disability, according to the state government’s media statement. The change covers both public housing and community housing arrangements that use the public housing income limits, meaning it will affect thousands of households across the state who rely on Age Pension, Disability Support Pension, Service Pension and Carer Payment as their main or only income. Housing and Works Minister John Carey said the government “continues to do everything it can to support Western Australians into safe and secure homes” and that this was the tenth time social housing income eligibility limits had been raised to make sure those with the greatest need can continue to access housing support. “Social housing income eligibility limits will be raised again in line with rising income support payment rates, ensuring those members of the community who rely on Commonwealth income support remain eligible,” Carey said, signaling that future adjustments will track changes to federal benefit levels. The statement also highlighted that in eight years of government the previous Barnett Liberal‑National administration did not increase social housing income eligibility once, while the current Labor government has now lifted the limits ten times since taking office in 2020. Alongside the eligibility changes, the state points to a record $10.8 billion investment in housing measures since 2021 that has delivered more than 4,300 new social homes, part of a broader push that includes new high‑density social and affordable apartments in the Perth CBD and other build‑to‑rent projects backed by the federal Housing Australia Future Fund. Carey has previously said social housing rents are generally set at 25 per cent of a tenant’s income, while affordable rentals can be set at around 30 per cent of income or offered at a discount to the market rate depending on the community housing provider. At the federal level, ministers have acknowledged that the “vast, vast majority” of public housing tenants in Australia are in a deeply disadvantaged position, underlining the pressure on state systems to keep eligibility settings aligned with rising living costs and indexed payments. Tenant advocates and housing providers in WA have been pressing for such adjustments as pension and allowance rates move, arguing that without regular threshold updates people on fixed incomes risk breaching limits through no fault of their own and facing uncertainty about their tenancy. The latest increase is designed to prevent that scenario for households solely reliant on Commonwealth income support, while maintaining higher or differentiated limits for remote and North West regions where wages and living costs can differ from the Perth metro area.
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