Kevin Rudd, the Opposition Leader has opened a summit in Canberra to discuss what can be done to tackle housing affordability in the country.
The housing summit, which started on Thursday, has Mr Rudd proposing the establishment of a research council that will produce yearly data to assist in providing policy advice to the government on the topical issue.
"In terms of the data, it would provide levels of immigration as I said before, movement of people between states, medium and long-term demographic changes, the adequacy of current and future land supply, market distortions and possible future shortfalls, housing construction and availability of diversity of housing and response to demand," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
"It would also, as I indicated before, be in a position to provide policy advice to the government of the day, in terms of what would constitute an appropriate set of policy settings to deal with this challenge for Australian families into the future."
The issue of housing affordability is also frequently raised by Christians who said more needed to be done by the government to solve the current crisis.
The CEO of Mission Australia, Toby Hall said that this problem in Australia was acute, with the worst-affected groups being Aboriginals and low-income people.
"The problem in Australia with housing is acute, particularly among Indigenous communities and the thousands of low-income people living in 'housing stress' who are spending up to half their income on rent," Mr Hall said.
Reverend Keith Garner, the CEO of Wesley Mission, in response to this year's Federal Budget said that more funding was 'desperately' needed for public housing and affordable accommodation for low income earners.
"There are no initiatives to address the desperate need for more public housing and affordable accommodation for low income earners," he said.
"Supported accommodation – which is so vital in helping those with a mental illness or the long term homeless integrate back into the community – is silently and sadly missing from this budget."
The Uniting Nations' Human Rights Council recently declared Australia to be in the grip of a 'serious housing crisis' and said that a long term strategy was needed.
In a report released in June, it stated: "Reductions in public housing stock, soaring private rental rates, an acknowledged housing affordability crisis and no real reduction in the number of homeless had contributed to the crisis and that a clear, consistent, long-term and holistic housing strategy was needed."