Homelessness FAQs

Recent releases

Demand for SAAP accommodation by homeless people 2007-08: summary (28 May 2009) (media release and publication)

Homeless people in SAAP: SAAP National Data Collection annual report 2007-08, Australia (3 April 2009) (media release and publication)

Popular titles

Australia's welfare 2009 (17 November 2009) (media release and publication)

Australia's health 2008 (24 June 2008) (media release and publication)

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Questions

What is the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP)?
SAAP was developed to help people who are either homeless or at risk of homelessness. It provides them with temporary accommodation and other related services. Its goal is to help people achieve self-reliance and independence. The SAAP homepage provides more information on the program.

What is the National Data Collection Agency (NDCA)?
The NDCA is a national information system that combines information from both SAAP agencies and state/territory and Commonwealth funding departments. It was set up to provide the information needed to assist in the planning, monitoring and evaluation of SAAP.

How many homeless people are there in Australia?
The ABS estimated that on Census night 2006, there were around 105,000 homeless people in Australia. For more information about how this is estimated see "Who is classified as 'homeless' and how is it defined" or read Counting the Homeless [external link] by the ABS.

How many people receive SAAP support in Australia?
This number changes every year. The SAAP NDCA collects information about the number of homeless people and people at risk of homelessness receiving SAAP assistance and their characteristics and circumstances. For detailed information, see the homelessness publications on this website.

Does SAAP support all homeless people in Australia?
No. While SAAP is the major government response to homelessness there are other programs (government and non-government) that assist homeless people. Additionally, SAAP is not available to some people, and others don’t seek assistance at all. For further information on how SAAP is used see the Demand for SAAP accommodation by homeless people report in homelessness publications.

Who is classified as "homeless" and how is it defined?
Defining who is homeless can be difficult. Different groups have proposed different definitions of homelessness based on a number of different circumstances. These range from a person having no shelter at all, to a person occupying shelter that compromises their health or safety.

The SAAP NCDA uses a definition of a homeless person called a ‘service delivery’ definition of homelessness. This definition was developed specifically to work out who needs access to SAAP services:

SAAP definition of homelessness (SAAP Act 1994)

A person who does not have access to safe, secure and adequate housing. A person is considered not to have access to safe, secure and adequate housing if the only housing to which they have access:

    • damages, or is likely to damage, their health; or
    • threatens their safety; or
    • marginalises them through failing to provide access to
      • adequate personal amenities, or
      • the economic and social supports that a home normally affords; or
    • places them in circumstances which threaten or adversely affect the adequacy, safety, security and affordability of that housing; or
    • has no security of tenure-that is, they have no legal right to continued occupation of their home.
    • The definition also considers a person homeless if they were living in accommodation provided by a SAAP agency or some other form of emergency accommodation, if they were in ‘crisis and at imminent risk of becoming homeless’, or if they were ‘experiencing domestic violence and were at imminent risk of becoming homeless’. 

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has a different process of defining homelessness; the 'cultural definition' of homelessness (see Counting the Homeless [external link] for details). This ‘cultural definition’ of homelessness defines homelessness in each community based on that community’s standards for housing. Using this definition, the Census attempted to count every homeless person in Australia.
ABS definition of homelessness
  • Primary homelessness: people without conventional accommodation, including improvised dwellings
  • Secondary homelessness: people who move frequently from one form of temporary shelter to another, including people in SAAP accommodation
  • Tertiary homelessness: medium- to long-term boarding house residents.

The ABS used this definition for the 2006 Census. The results showed that there were around 105,000 homeless people in Australia on Census night 2006.