Eradicating mould would save millions in health-care costs: how our homes affect our health

September 15, 2025

Rebecca Bentley, The University of Melbourne and Kate Mason, The University of Melbourne Housing is a key determinant of physical health. Housing conditions can increase or reduce the risk of problems including respiratory illness, heart disease and injury. Improving housing conditions would see an improvement in health at the population level and reduce health-care costs. […]

NZ homes are notorious for being cold and damp. Here are 4 ways to make yours feel warmer this winter

June 20, 2025

John Tookey, Auckland University of Technology New Zealand has just been hit by the first big cold snap of 2025 and, like every year, many New Zealanders will be reaching for an extra jumper, slippers and maybe a blanket to try and keep warm. New Zealand’s housing stock has long been criticised for being damp, […]

Budget’s energy bill relief and home retrofit funding is a good start, but dwarfed by the scale of the task

May 11, 2023

Trivess Moore, RMIT University and Ralph Horne, RMIT University The quality and performance of our housing have big impacts on the environment, cost of living and our health and wellbeing. The 2023-24 federal budget’s announcement of $1.6 billion for energy-saving upgrades to housing recognises the broad importance of retrofitting Australian homes. Until now, much of […]