The Broken Formula: How Housing Rules Designed for Spreadsheets Are Failing Real People

What if the way we measure “overcrowding” is completely wrong?This episode exposes how rigid housing formulas—built on outdated assumptions—are misclassifying families, ignoring culture, and driving flawed policy decisions. Drawing on research from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute and real-world data, we unpack the gap between how governments define housing and how people actually live. From multi-generational households to the hidden mental load on parents, this deep dive reveals why the problem isn’t just space—it’s the system itself.If the problem is overcrowding or lack of housing, why are we only policing migrants and the west, not the investors in Bondi packing 5 people into a 1‑bedroom apartment in the West of Sydney/ Inner West of Sydney /Bennalong and in the Inner Sydney area? Also why are the Eastern, Northern and Sutherland suburbs not doing their fair share of providing housing in their neighbourhoods? Especially because they love diversity 😜