Around 544,000 people live in public housing in Australia. And there’s huge demand for more: 169,000 households are waiting for public housing, up almost 10% from a decade earlier.

But what happens when a state government decides to move public housing tenants? Do tenants have any legal rights to stay?

Several court cases – including a new High Court appeal for Melbourne tenants, and an unexpected win for three Canberra tenants – show how some people are challenging their relocation when laws aren’t properly followed.

Earlier this month, three public housing tenants in the Australian Capital Territory had a rare win, stopping them being relocated against their wishes. The women had each lived in their home for around 30 to 40 years.

The ACT Supreme Court found the territory’s social housing commissioner had denied the women procedural fairness and failed to consider their rights under the territory’s Human Rights Act. All public bodies in the ACT must properly consider human rights when making a decision.

Justice Verity McWilliam’s judgement quoted iconic Australian movie The Castle, as well as Roman philosopher Cicero:

It need hardly be said that any interference with one’s home must be lawful. That pithy........

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