Housing stress in the ACT has shifted from a short-term pressure to a long-term reality, with low-income earners effectively locked out of the private rental market, according to a new report from Anglicare Australia.

The organisation’s latest Rental Affordability Snapshot, conducted in mid-March, analysed thousands of listings across Canberra and Queanbeyan and found virtually no affordable options for those on lower incomes.

Not a single property surveyed was considered affordable and appropriate for households relying on income support. Just one listing – around 0.1 per cent – was affordable for a single person on the minimum wage.

Even households with two minimum wage incomes faced near-total exclusion, with less than one per cent of listings meeting affordability criteria.

Managing director of St John’s Care Jason Haines said the findings reflect what frontline services are seeing every day.

“People are choosing between paying rent and buying food, heating their homes or filling their cars with petrol,” he said.

“We are seeing people who are working and still need emergency assistance, and if they lose their rental, the reality is they are very unlikely to find another.”

The report highlights that pressure in the ACT rental market is now systemic, with vacancy rates remaining at or below one per cent for years and public housing wait times often exceeding five years.

While rent increases have slowed since 2024, the report suggests this is due to tenants reaching the limits of what they can afford, rather than any meaningful improvement in housing accessibility.

Rising fuel costs – linked in part to global instability – are also adding to the burden, particularly for renters forced to live further from jobs and services in search of cheaper housing.

Anglicare said that although the ACT has some of the strongest renter protections in the country, these measures are not enough to address the underlying shortage of affordable homes.

The organisation is calling for urgent government action, including increased investment in social and affordable housing, reforms to capital gains tax settings, and higher income support payments to reflect the cost of living.