On 22 May 2008, the Prime Minister, the Hon. Kevin Rudd MP released the Government's Green Paper, 'Which Way Home? A New Approach to Homelessness'. The paper aimed to promote public discussion on homelessness, highlight the challenges faced by people who are homeless and suggest ways forward.
The Minister for Housing, Tanya Plibersek invited public discussion via public consultations held nationally throughout May and June and invited written contributions to inform development of the White Paper to be released in September 2008. The White Paper will set out the Government's national plan of action on homelessness to 2020.
The Supported Accommodation and Assistance Program (SAAP) National Data Collection Agency, within the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, is the principal source of data and information on SAAP which is the major Government program response to homelessness. Understanding the scope and effectiveness of the SAAP program, as well as related mainstream services such as public and community housing, will be integral to forming robust, evidence-based policy on homelessness. To this end, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare made a submission to the Green Paper process which promoted the use of data and statistics on SAAP and other mainstream housing and support services to people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.