Housing Officer
What the work is
Assists individuals and families experiencing housing difficulties to find suitable solutions. Provides support, information and advice on entitlements, and coordinates with other agencies to improve quality of life.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Provides individually tailored and person-centred support to deliver safe, secure, suitable and affordable housing to improve individuals' and families' wellbeing
- Advises on rights and entitlements to ensure requirements for providing accommodation and housing standards are met
- Refers clients to appropriate sources of accommodation and income support
- Ensures that accommodation is suited to the needs of particular groups, such as older people and persons with additional requirements
- Develops, implements and delivers housing programs for at-risk and low-income individuals and families
- Organises emergency accommodation
- Prepares reports and maintains client records
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a community welfare centre with a drop-in counter and small interview rooms. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A person who arrived in tears leaves with a plan and a phone number to call
- A family you helped find a home sends a photo of their kids in their own bedrooms
- A stack of letters that overwhelmed someone becomes a list they can manage
Hard days
- Having nothing available to offer someone who clearly needs it today
- A day of back-to-back crises and no time to eat or think
- Hearing a client's story and still having to go to the next appointment
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 411634, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.