Research Fellow
Housing and Community Research Unit (HACRU)
| Contact Campus | Sandy Bay Campus |
| Building | Arts Building |
| Room Reference | 431 |
| Telephone | +61 3 6226 2928 |
| Fax | +61 3 6226 2279 |
| Michelle.Gabriel@utas.edu.au |
This project examines the potential opportunities for and barriers to improving the environmental sustainability of Australia's private rental stock. It focuses on the impact of the Australian Government's proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) on private rental tenancies. Rising energy costs pose particular challenges for private rental tenants who are constrained in their adoption of low-emission substitutes as they do not have the right to adapt their homes without landlord acquiescence. Moreover, as the landlord does not reap the immediate benefits of investment in alternative energy efficient equipment, the financial incentives motivating such investment is weaker than those of homeowners. It is anticipated that the project will provide policymakers with insight into strategies that can encourage providers and consumers of rental housing to adopt more energy efficient practices, whilst ensuring that such policies do not exacerbate existing socio-spatial inequalities in Australian cities. The project is being undertaken in collaboration with RMIT, Monash and Curtin University.
The rise in young women investing in the Australian property market represents a marked shift in the attitudes and experiences of women compared with previous generations. In view of this trend, Dr Michelle Gabriel is undertaking a study of how housing investment is factored into young women's plans for their financial future.
Michelle's PhD was entitled 'Youth, Mobility and Governance on the NW Coast of Tasmania'. Her research interests include housing and social policy, social inequality, population mobility, and changes in Australian housing careers and domestic life.