Win-win-win: Older Women Share Housing in Australia

Australia’s rental crisis is deepening, with older women now one of the fastest growing cohorts at risk of homelessness. At the same time, more than 13 million bedrooms remain underutilised across the housing system, many within the homes of older women living alone. Despite this potential, research has largely overlooked how older women might engage in share housing and how policy frameworks shape these decisions. This pilot study explores older women’s willingness to share, drawing on a survey of members of a community-based government-supported initiative in Queensland that connects women interested in shared living. The findings suggest that share housing among older women is shaped by a combination of financial, regulatory and relational factors. Whilst interest exists, particularly among those in housing stress or motivated by social and ethical considerations, uptake depends on appropriate tax and pension settings, legal protections, and support mechanisms to manage compatibility and risk. By positioning share housing as a viable yet undervalued option for older women, this study offers something rare in housing policy: a low-cost, high-benefit intervention that simultaneously addresses affordability, social connection and supply – a genuine win for older women seeking housing, for those with rooms to share and for the broader community.