It’s a phrase we’ve heard recently in support of a new contestable flexible housing fund aimed at enabling innovative public housing solutions. But it raises a fundamental question: who exactly are the right people?

We know the right houses haven’t been built—at least not in the right proportions. The demand for 1-, 2-, and 5-bedroom social homes far outweighs supply, largely because our housing stock is dominated by 3-bedroom designs. That can be changed.

We also know that the right places can be better identified. With more sophisticated analysis of regional demand, we can influence where housing is developed. That, too, can be changed.

But the question of the right people? That’s more nuanced.

Everyone counts. Yet not every design includes everyone. If we leave it to the market, we’ll keep building homes with steps up and steps down, narrow doorways, and bathrooms that don’t work for many. Maybe it’s time to take a more proactive stance.

Let’s reward designs that are just as affordable – but inclusive, too. Designs that work for your niece with cerebral palsy, your friend recovering from a stroke, your pregnant sister, your colleague with a broken leg, or your granddad who now uses a walking frame.

Maybe “the right people” is just code for everyone.

Time will tell.

Geoff Penrose

General Manager, Lifemark Ltd