SGS Lab

Rental Affordability Index 2020

The Rental Affordability Index (RAI) is an easy to understand indicator of rental affordability relative to household incomes throughout Australia. It quantifies rental affordability challenges and highlights the experiences of disadvantaged households. The RAI is a crucial tool for policy-makers to track rental affordability trends and inform evidence-based policy responses. We have partnered with National Shelter, Bendigo Bank, and Brotherhood of St Laurence on the RAI since 2015.

The RAI is calculated using the following equation, where ‘qualifying income’ refers to the household income required to pay rent where rent is equal to 30% of income. RAI = (Median income⁄Qualifying Income) x 100.

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