Australian Co-living Report

Understanding the role of co-living in Australia’s evolving housing landscape

Australia's housing challenges continue to intensify, with affordability pressures, low vacancy rates and changing household preferences driving demand for new housing solutions. Co-living has emerged as a flexible and affordable accommodation model, offering professionally managed housing that combines private living spaces with shared amenities and community-focused experiences.

While demand for the product is growing, the sector's future depends on something more fundamental: Certainty.

BDO's report, Australian Co-living: A clearer pathway for growth and institutional investment, examines the policy, planning, taxation and investment settings shaping the future of Australia's emerging co-living sector. Drawing on insights from across the living sector, the report explores what is required to unlock institutional capital, support project feasibility and enable co-living to become a recognised asset class alongside Build-to-Rent (BtR) and Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA).

Key report insights

• Institutional certainty is the missing ingredient: The report finds that demand is not the barrier to growth. Rather, uncertainty around planning, taxation, valuation and financing continues to constrain institutional investment and sector expansion.
• NSW is leading the way: NSW currently provides the clearest pathway for co-living development through dedicated planning recognition under the Housing SEPP. This has created greater certainty for developers, investors and operators compared with other Australian jurisdictions.
• Taxation remains a critical challenge: The GST treatment of co-living developments remains one of the sector's most significant friction points. Greater regulatory clarity could improve feasibility, support investment decisions and accelerate capital allocation.
• The sector is following a familiar path: Like PBSA and BtR before it, co-living is progressing through a maturation process that requires planning recognition, operational proof of concept, valuation consistency, transaction evidence and lender confidence before it can achieve broader institutional adoption.