10 Sydney Suburbs with the most Housing Commission

As property & real estate prices in Sydney have skyrocketed over recent years, the creation of affordable housing has become one of the hottest topics for those looking to be able to afford a place to live.

While Sydney boasts a high average salary on a global level, it also ranks as one of the most expensive places to live – often forcing people further and further out of the places they once grew up in in order to afford a mortgage.

Numerous plans and projects have been undertaken by the government to create zones – and even entire suburbs – providing affordable housing / housing commission areas for those less fortunate to live.

Here, we take a look at the 10 Sydney suburbs with the most housing commission homes on a percentage basis. Note that the average across all Sydney suburbs is around ~5%, as a baseline for comparison.

1. Airds

Percentage of housing commission: 87%

One of a handful of “poster-child” suburbs on this list developed using the US-originating Radburn principles – a concept of suburban design that proved truly counter-productive to quality of life in Australia – Airds narrowly beats out #2 for the highest proportion of housing commission / public housing of any suburb in the greater Sydney region.

While older parts of the suburb are still undergoing some redevelopment, its 87%-strong figure is massively above the Australian average. As more private dwellings are built on the suburb’s fringes, this percentage looks to drop in the near future and may end up with it being second place to…

2. Claymore

Percentage of housing commission: 86%

Another suburb with a significant portion using Radburn design, Claymore to the north of Campbelltown likewise has an extremely high concentration, with 86% housing commission.

Likewise targeted for heavy redevelopment, the NSW Land and Housing Corporation are “working to transform the existing Claymore public housing estate into a modern, socially mixed community with 70% of dwellings in private ownership and the remaining 30% for public housing”.

Expect its proportion to drop significantly as a result.

3. Barangaroo

Percentage of housing commission: 82%

A premium slice of Sydney waterfront real estate, Barangaroo’s percentage of public housing is largely so high due to its combination of low total population, and the highly recognisable “cinderblock-style” Sirius public housing building taking up much of its physical space.

It was used for public housing since it opened in 1981, as gentrification quickly sprung up around it.

The unintentionally-iconic building was sold off by the government in a controversial move that was labelled by some as “classist” at the time in 2019, with the building set to undergo a facelift while still retaining its original “brutalist” design principles. Its figure will drastically decline as a result.

4. Daceyville

Percentage of housing commission: 69%

Tiny Daceyville, which sits next to the better-known Kingsford in Sydney’s south-east, has historic origins and is the result of our country’s first public housing scheme.

Named after its conceptual father, John Rowland Dacey, the suburb was built with British “Garden Suburb” principles in mind that focused on a mix of public housing and abundant green spaces.

The legacy of this can still be seen in the suburb today, with a quaint and sleepy atmosphere and its concentration of parkland (highlighted by the tropical-feeling Dacey Gardens) providing a secluded feel despite its central location.

5. Bidwill

Percentage of housing commission: 65%

Another Radburn-influenced suburb, Bidwill – one of the satellite suburbs of Mt Druitt to Sydney’s west – was featured in SBS’s television documentary “Struggle Street” back in 2015.

The show received some criticism at the time for its reinforcing of stereotypes of those living in disadvantageous socio-economic conditions, with housing commission tenants playing a prominent role.

Ongoing efforts have been made to reverse and upgrade some of the Radburn-style dwellings in the suburb, however its 65% figure still ranks towards the upper end of the scale for Sydney’s housing commission-heavy suburbs.

6. Villawood

Percentage of housing commission: 46%

Villawood, which sits to the east of Cabramatta in western Sydney, is another suburb in flux for housing development. Probably best known for the role its Detention Centre has played in multiple immigration issues and controversies of recent times, the suburb clocks in with a 46% housing commission percentage.

It has been targeted as part of the NSW Government’s “Communities Plus” program which will deliver up to 23,500 new and replacement social and affordable housing dwellings, and up to 40,000 private homes over the next 10 years. Parts of this also includes upgrades to parks, roads and other key amenities.

7. Miller

Percentage of housing commission: 44%

Located to the west of Liverpool in Sydney’s western suburbs, Miller is part of the greater Green Valley Housing Estate which was established back in the 1960’s – the largest of its kind ever attempted at the date of its completion.

As of the most recent Australian census, the median household income for Miller was just $739 per week; less than half the Australian national median.

It received media attention recently when a teenager was shot down and killed outside his home during February 2020.

8. Cartwright

Percentage of housing commission: 38%

The direct neighbour of Miller above, many of the same principles and statistics apply to Cartwright. A process of highrise construction and private home projects are underway, however the suburb still currently clocks in with a 38% public housing ratio.

The suburb likewise ranks as one of the region’s poorest suburbs, with a household median income of $740 per week.

9. Tregear

Percentage of housing commission: 37%

Part of the Blacktown City Council area of western Sydney, Tregear is one of the cheapest suburbs to buy a freestanding house in all of Sydney with a median home price of just $437,000 as of the end of 2019. It was also rated by Your Investment Property as one of Sydney’s best suburbs to invest back in 2017.

Take those recommendations with a grain of salt, however, as the suburb also claimed several “gold medals” in our Sydney Suburbs Crime Olympics rankings feature.

Tregear ranked highly per-capita for crimes such as arson, attempted murder, breaching violence orders and others, while ranking tops in Sydney for the breaking and entering of homes.

10. Shalvey (tie)

Percentage of housing commission: 36%

Another Mt Druitt satellite suburb, Shalvey is both highly housing commission heavy and unfortunately another hotspot for crime, being home to one of the highest concentration of sexual offences per capita of Sydney’s suburbs.

It boasts abnormally high unemployment rates and no real local economy to speak of, and is a suburb in which quantity of income tax paid is outstripped by welfare received.

11. Waterloo (tie)

Percentage of housing commission: 36%

Central Sydney suburb of Waterloo is one of the remaining anomalies in a location so close to the Sydney CBD still home to such a high proportion of public housing. Waterloo’s public housing is most famously personified by its twin towers on Phillip Street, which have been home to numerous unfortunate events and crimes over the years.

With the encroaching waves of gentrification sweeping in and transforming adjacent suburbs such as Alexandria and the Green Square area, Waterloo is set to progressively be transformed over the coming decade(s).

The upcoming redevelopment of Waterloo will produce a mixed estate of 30% social housing and 70% private properties once it’s complete.

Here’s the full list of Sydney suburbs broken down by % of housing commission, which you can filter via the Search field: