Renters often live in the poorest quality homes, the most expensive to run, too hot in summer and too cold in winter, less healthy to live in, and yet they have the least agency to do anything about it. So, who is best to vote for to improve this? We’ve pulled out some of the relevant policy responses to help you decide.
What we are covering in this comparative scorecard analysis….
- Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards for Renters
- Energy Access for Vulnerable Queenslanders
We have an energy-centric focus as an organisation, but have provided links to these other issues we care about as energy and the experience of households does not occur in a vacuum… - Broader Tenancy and Housing Issues, that would support energy efficiency – including cost-of-living measures and rental protections.
- Broader Climate Change and Environmental Issues – including emission reduction, climate resilience, energy efficiency and energy performance.
*Please note that Energetic Communities is a bipartisan non-government organisation, however we think it is important to highlight the policies of each party on the issues we are advocating for so that our supporters can make an informed decision. (We would like to acknowledge that we have drawn on the research done by the Queensland Conservation Council and QCOSS‘s broader scorecards that you can find linked below, to pull out elements specific to the issues that we are focusing on. We have also referenced all of the asks from the Make Renting Fair Queensland scorecard. Where we have drawn on other sources we have provided links to those sources).
Below is the overview of the policy positions of Labor, the LNP and the Greens. We are doing a Queensland-wide analysis so are not including Independents and minor parties that are not running candidates in a majority of seats.
Our Ask – Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards for Renters
Queensland is well behind other Australian states and jurisdictions that have minimum energy efficiency standards for renters, including regulations around insulation, space heating and disclosure. Queensland Renters are missing out!
To learn more about why Energy Efficiency is important for your home, both for your health, hip pocket and the environment, see these other pages on our website.
Now to the party policy positions:
So far, the Labor government have introduced laws that create some minimum standards for rental properties, like conditions around rental properties being in good repair, free from mould, and having curtains or other window coverings in bedrooms. These are important steps, but we are yet to see them implement regulations that would bring energy efficiency standards into effect.
The Greens have announced at a federal level that they want to see national rental standards that include those for heating and cooling of a home. At a state level they have further committed to:
- Implementing all the Make Renting Fair Queensland asks. Energetic Communities is a member of the Make Renting Fair Queensland Alliance, which includes minimum energy efficiency standards for rental properties as one of its three asks, along with capping rent increases and stabilising tenure.
- Encouraging energy efficiency improvements in construction, maintenance and improvements of dwellings through a mixture of incentives, subsidies, taxes and regulation.
- Offering full rebates for retro fitting existing houses and buildings, including rental properties, with energy saving devices and measures. Any financial subsidies for landlords would be conditional on limiting rent increases.
In their response to QCOSS’s scorecard questions, the Queensland Greens noted that they had previously called on the Housing Minister to make ceiling fans, insulation, ventilation and energy efficiency measures mandatory for all rental properties. In particular, where a home is not energy efficient to a 6-star rating standard, landlords should be required to ensure the bedrooms and main living area should be air conditioned, and that fans, ventilation and air conditioning units are in good working order. We would add that fixed appliances should be energy efficient.
In responding to the Make Renting Fair Queensland request for a position statement on Mandatory Energy Efficiency Minimum Standards, the LNP did not indicate that they agreed to this policy, or indeed any of the asks of the Alliance.Disappointingly, the LNP candidates have not been attending community coalition candidate forums where we have been able to directly ask the other parties about this issue and bring along renters to share their stories of how energy inefficient homes affect them.
Energy Access for Vulnerable Queenslanders
During its term Labor has:
- Provided $10 million in funding for Energy Literacy programs, as well as a further $8.4 million for Financial Literacy and Resilience Services.
- Proposed Consumer Protections which mean that before an energy provider can switch households to a time of use (TOU) tariff for their energy use, customers need to have the chance to understand the benefits and behaviour change required to get the most from cheaper energy during the day.
- $50 million in matched federal funding (to a total of $116 million) is allocated to the Social Housing Energy Performance Initiative (SEPI) to support improvements to insulation, fans, and more efficient hot water in 32,000 social homes.
- Invested in infrastructure to support renters to get emissions-free, cheaper energy. Labor has been investing in neighbourhood battery storage facilities (or on a larger scale – they are referred to as LREZ’s – Local Renewable Energy Zones). Batteries would harness the solar produced across existing rooftop panels, where there is already an abundance of solar panels in the area. Currently a lot of solar energy is not utilised, and in fact can cause issues because Queenslanders now, on average, have so much roof-top solar, and the energy produced needs to go somewhere. So the neighbourhood batteries can allow energy to be re-distributed to those who do not have solar on their roofs. This year’s budget included $354.7 million to continue delivery of the Local Network Battery Plan across Queensland. This investment builds on the neighbourhood batteries trial in Ipswich, which has been saving households up to $259 a year.
- Labor won’t commit to solar for renter’s scheme because as they have already tried it and that the trail showed it was a landlord subsidy for rooftop solar (we have asked to see details of the report from this trial). They say they believe local batteries are better for the clean energy grid because they allow a fairer way of reaching more people. This is true, but Victoria successfully offers both to renters and Queensland could do the same (with the right consumer protections).
- Climate Smart Energy Savers rebates were provided to over 38,000 low-income households to upgrade to energy efficient appliances to cut their energy bills on an ongoing basis.
- Conditionally approved Battery Booster rebates to install home batteries for over 1,600 low-income households.
- Labor increased the amount of royalities Qlders get from selling our energy resources overseas, which meant they had an annual budget surplus in recent years. This was framed as the reason to take the most well publicised action of giving some of this profit back in energy-bill relief rebates to all Queenslanders: which is providing 620,000 seniors and concession registered households with $1,672 each and delivering at least $1,300 to the more than 632,000 rental households across our State.
The Greens commitment to introduce minimum energy efficiency standards and energy efficiency upgrades to old housing stock in the rental market can save households hundreds of dollars. Ceiling insulation alone has been estimated to save a household over $500 a year on heating and cooling costs, according to analysis done by Renew, a nation-wide not-for-profit looking at energy and climate resilience.
The Greens have also supported QCOSS’s recommendation for increased funding for financial counsellors and implementing asks from the Power Together Alliance (of which Energetic Communities is a member).
Additionally, The Greens have committed to: - Subsidise the installation of clean energy generation and storage for social housing, low-income households, and the not-for-profit sector.
- Support more flexible business models for the ownership and operation of rooftop solar and household energy storage – which could mean that cooperatives of residents can own and get the benefits from managing their energy without third-parties taking a cut.
The LNP announced a Supercharged Solar for Renters program where landlords will be offered a $3,500 subsidy to install panels on their rental properties, but the funding allocated to this program is unclear and thus how many houses would be eligible for this subsidy is still unknown, or measures or conditions to keep the house and benefit in the rental market, or prevent the impact of door knocking sales.The announcement provides little detail of protections or mechanisms put in place to ensure the benefits are actually passed onto renters while the property is rented out.
A note for policy design for all parties:
We have heard stories from renters where their homes already have solar panels but the owners may not pass on the savings, or is it unclear what they’re paying for. Some landlords may include energy use as part of the rent in the leasing arrangement but not necessarily pass on any of the solar savings, or charge more than what the tenants would otherwise pay. Transparency is needed to ensure solar for renters is done fairly.
We have even heard of illegal practices, where landlords invoice tenants for energy use rather than provide them with the actual bill. A case of this type has been tested in the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal and the judge ruled that a landlord is not allowed to do this – they must provide the actual energy bill. The decision recorded: “Throughout the life of the current tenancy the Tenants are entitled to the full solar rebate”.
However, without protections for renters such as banning unfair rent-rise retaliation and an end to no-grounds evictions, most renters find the other rights they are supposed to have as meaningless. Renters are already too scared to ask for anything.
This is why we support Make Renting Fair Queensland’s asks for broader renter protections and are disappointed that the LNP and Labor have said no to these asks.
Broader Tenancy and Housing Analysis
We are a member of Make Renting Fair Queensland who have done their own scorecard. The Greens are the only major party to have agreed to commit to ANY of the asks of this Alliance, being:
1. To put a cap on the amount rents can be increased in line with CPI indexation.
2. Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards in rental properties.
3. End No-Grounds Evictions so tenants can exercise their rights without fear of retaliatory ending of their tenure.
You can see the full responses from the major parties to these asks via the Make Renting Fair Queensland website.
QCOSS have also done a scorecard and the headings “Reduce the Cost of Living” has responses specific to energy costs, including free energy literacy programs. The “End Queensland’s Housing Crisis” heading has more on housing pressures.
Tenants Queensland also asked the major political parties a series of questions around access to tenancy rights services – you might want to read their responses here.
Broader Climate Change and Environmental Issues
While Labor has legislated both renewable energy and emission reduction targets (renewable energy generation – 50% by 2030, 70% by 2032 and 80% by 2035; emission reduction – 75% by 2035), we are most concerned that the LNP has said they will undo this and keep coal-fired plants open indefinitely. As we noted in a Power Together press release:
“By continuing coal generation, scrapping the renewable energy targets, and going into the election without a real plan to achieve net zero or support households, the LNP are risking energy affordability and the health of Queensland households.
“We know that heat already kills more people than bushfires, floods and storms combined and that most of these deaths occur in homes and workplaces. We also know that renewable energy is cheaper than coal. As it’s mostly renters and low-income households that live in the most heat affected and expensive to run homes, keeping coal open will only exacerbate this unfair impact. Queenslanders just can’t afford any more temperature increases from the continuing use of expensive fossil fuels.”
For further environmental issue breakdown see these scorecards below:
- The Queensland Conservation Council have created a scorecard for the environment.
- The Australian Marine Conservation Society have also created a scorecard for the reef.