Homelessness Australia Media Release

Homelessness in Australia has reached alarming new levels, with the latest Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) annual data, released today, revealing a deepening emergency.

Rough sleeping and persistent homelessness has increased to devastating levels, as more people are missing out on emergency accommodation and housing.

The housing crisis continues to be a major driver of homelessness, with the latest data revealing that the amount of people seeking help as a result of housing affordability has increased a further 15.7% in the past year.

Almost 280,1000 clients have been assisted by specialist homelessness agencies in the past year, with the amount of people already sleeping rough when first accessing a service increasing 13% in the past year. This is a total increase of 33% in the past two years.

“This is a humanitarian crisis and these shocking new figures must be a wake-up call for governments across Australia,” Homelessness Australia CEO Kate Colvin said. “We are failing people at every turn – more families, workers and older Australians are being pushed to breaking point by skyrocketing rents and a broken housing system.”

The new data also reveals gaping holes in the capacity of homelessness services to provide the help people need, with services buckling under the strain.

Up to 163,000 clients of specialist homelessness services requested either short, medium or long term accommodation in the past year.

“Up to one-third of people who need short-term or emergency accommodation missed out,” Colvin said. “That’s 34,360 people who missed out on emergency accommodation in the past year.”

Meanwhile, there was no housing for 70% of people who needed long term housing, leaving 76,688 Australians who requested help to fend for themselves.

The state which saw the biggest increase in rough sleeping over the past two years was Queensland with a shocking 51% spike, followed by WA with a 35% increase, South Australia with a 30% increase and Victoria with an 18% increase.

The shocking data also found a rise in persistent homelessness, up to 37,800 Australians in the past year, compared to 29,500 clients in 2018-19.

More than 39% of all people using homelessness services have experienced family and domestic violence, while 28% of clients of homelessness services are First Nations Australians, reflecting continued disadvantage in the housing market.

“We knew it was bad, but this data shows us it’s getting even worse. While the Federal Government’s increases to Rent Assistance and social housing investment have made a difference, more must be done to address the crisis,” Colvin said.

“We need an immediate injection of funding to stop the crisis from worsening. This is no longer a challenge for just the most vulnerable – working Australians and families are becoming homeless. Governments need to step up before the emergency spirals even further out of control.”

Homelessness Australia is calling on the federal and state governments to deliver an emergency homelessness investment to stop people becoming homeless, Housing First programs to stop people cycling in and out of homelessness, and an expansion of social housing.

“The figures we are seeing today represent a failure of policy and lack of political will,” Colvin said. “It’s time for leaders to step up and ensure no one in Australia is left without the support they need to keep a roof over their head.”