Protecting Public Housing Tenants in Australia from Forced Eviction: The Fundamental Importance of the Human Right to Adequate Housing and Home

The tenure of most public housing tenants in Australia is precarious because it can be terminated without cause, raising the spectre of forced eviction. In that context, this article examines the fundamental importance of the human right to adequate housing and home. After fi rst grounding the debate in the idea of home rather than traditional property law, this article examines the scope of the human right to adequate housing and home afforded under international law. The international position is then contrasted with a comprehensive review of the public housing regimes in each Australian state and territory. The article concludes by exploring the dissonance between international obligations and domestic law, and contends that it can only be resolved by enlarging the frame of reference of housing policy, administration and law to encompass human rights and by reforming state and territory law and administration in respect of public rental housing in accordance with the human right to adequate housing and home, as has been done in the Australian Capital Territory