Australian social housing does not adequately provide safe and secure housing for disadvantaged and needy people. This article will demonstrate the issues that arise from poorly planned social housing developments, particularly issues regarding the spatial concentration of commission housing in lower socio-economic areas. Australian government agencies are currently investigating solutions to the problems caused by public housing estates, developed primarily after World War II to address the housing shortage. These houses built between 1940 and 1960 created “stressed” suburbs (National Archives of Australia, 2011). Physical problems related to dilapidated infrastructure and poorly designed housing reflect only part of the problems faced by renters who are increasingly characterized by poverty, high unemployment and low levels of education. Additionally, “in some neighborhoods, crime and violence are increasing and tenants are more likely to be involved in crime as victims and/or offenders” (Athurson, 2002, p. 3). This essay will reveal the need to create a more balanced social mix in suburban and regional Australia to end the cycle of disadvantage. In addition, it will provide information on current problems related to social housing, the authorities' proposals for resolution and the expected benefits that should result from the new approach to social housing development. Various strategies are being tested in Australian neighborhoods to address the problems manifested in large social housing estates. The Carlton High Rise Renewal is an example of a successful approach to social housing regeneration and should be integrated into more public housing estates such as West Hei...... middle of paper ......lopment (OECD) (1998), new policies aim to encourage the integration of communities in the hope of expanding opportunities for the population. Government agencies are constantly developing new ways to improve social balance within neighborhoods, but unfortunately these projects are not always implemented (Jamrozik, 2005). A recent draft European Council report on employment and social policy (European Commission, 2001, p. 1) refers to the socially excluded as people “prevented from participating fully in the economic, social or political life of the nation ". There is broad agreement with Atkinson's (2002, p. 4) belief that social exclusion leads to "poverty, income inequality, low educational attainment, labor market disadvantage, unemployment, poor health, poor housing or homelessness, illiteracy and incalculability.” ,k, 2002