One in every 126 Australians received help from the Supported
Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP) in 2005-06 according to a
report released today by the Australian Institute of Health and
Welfare (AIHW).
Of the 161,200 people who received assistance, 106,500 were
clients and 54,700 were accompanying children, said Anne
Giovanetti, Head of the Institute's Supported Accommodation and
Crisis Services Unit.
The report, Homeless people in SAAP: SAAP National Data
Collection annual report 2005-06, showed that the majority of
those receiving assistance were female.
'In particular, young females aged 15-19 years were the most
likely group to become a SAAP client (1 in every 57 young women in
this age group).
'Accompanying children aged 0-4 years also had a high rate of
use (1 in every 57 children in this age group),' Ms Giovanetti
said.
The majority of clients and accompanying children had only one
period of support during the year, but repeat use was slightly
higher for older male clients.
SAAP agencies were able to meet the needs of clients and
accompanying children directly in the majority of cases. Needs for
basic support services, such as meals and shower facilities, were
able to be met most often. Needs for specialist services, like
specialist counselling and health or medical care, were the least
likely to be provided directly.
In general, the circumstances of clients improved following
support, particularly for those supported for longer periods.
'The majority of SAAP clients had a case management plan in
place before the end of their support, and most of the goals
specified in the plans were achieved by the end of support,' Ms
Giovanetti said.
Most clients and accompanying children were born in Australia
and did not identify as being Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
However, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders were
overrepresented in SAAP when compared with the general Australian
population.
In 2005-06, recurrent funding directly to the 1,300 SAAP
agencies was $333.4m. In real terms, this was 26% more than the
funding provided to agencies in 1996-97.
The Supported Accommodation Assistance Program is the major
government response to homelessness and statistics on the Program
are regularly reported by the AIHW. This report provides an
overview of assistance given to clients and their accompanying
children by the program during the financial year 2005-06, and is
accompanied by state and territory supplementary reports.
16 May 2007
Further information: Ms Anne Giovanetti, AIHW,
tel. 02 6244 1206 or mob. 0407 928 523
For media copies of the report: Publications
Officer, AIHW, tel. 61 2 6244 1032.
Availability: Check the AIHW Publications
Catalogue for availability of Homeless people in
SAAP: SAAP National Data Collection annual report
2005-06.