BACKGROUND:
Housing insecurity is one of the major social determinants of health and wellbeing, particularly among migrants who often face multiple resettlement challenges. However, there is limited evidence on the long-term patterns and determinants of housing insecurity among migrants in Australia.

METHODS:
We conducted a secondary data analysis of data from the Building a New Life in Australia (BNLA) longitudinal survey. A total weighted sample of 7,778 humanitarian migrants was followed across six waves over a 10-year period. Logistic regression using Generalised Estimating Equations (GEE) was used to identify determinants of housing insecurity. Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) and p-value <0.05 were estimated.

RESULTS:
Prevalence of housing insecurity among humanitarian migrant participants was 52.8% (95% CI: 51.7,53.9). Age of participants (AOR = 0.98; 95% CI: 0.98, 0.99), Southeast Asian origin (AOR = 0.57; 95% CI: 0.36, 0.89), and arrival via an offshore visa subclass (AOR = 0.74; 95% CI: 0.61, 0.89) were associated with a lower level of housing insecurity. Being female (AOR = 1.42; 95% CI: 1.22, 1.65), never-married (AOR = 1.28; 95% CI: 1.08, 1.51), from Central and West African origin (AOR = 1.74; 95% CI: 1.07, 2.81) or Southern and East African origin (AOR = 1.94; 95% CI: 1.12, 3.36), or poor self-rated health (AOR = 1.46; 95% CI: 1.25, 1.70) were associated with greater odds of experiencing housing insecurity.

CONCLUSIONS:
In this study, more than half of humanitarian migrants experienced housing insecurity. Gender, age, marital status, self-assessed health, visa subclass and country of origin were key factors associated with experiencing housing insecurity. Public health and social policy interventions are required specifically to support migrants who are younger, female, and single to access and maintain secure housing, paying attention to disparities experienced by those from different regions of origin, particularly African-origin populations.